BIRMINGHAM, Al.—McNeese junior Katelyn Elliott recorded a season high 14 kills in a 3-1 (23-25, 25-23, 25-22, 16-25) volleyball loss to Loyola-Chicago Saturday to conclude tournament play at the Courtyard by Marriott Samford Invitational.
 
McNeese (0-3) had several opportunities throughout the match to pick up its first win of the season but never found the killer instinct to ward off a pesky Loyola-Chicago team.
 
"This was pretty disappointing loss today," said head coach Ashleigh Fitzgerald. "Credit Loyola-Chicago, they really swung hard and had a never say die attitude in sets one and three. We definitely did not match their intensity level. We are going to have to get better quick because we are going to meet tough competition again next weekend."
 
Ebony Lewis and Allison Lippert chipped in with nine kills apiece while Angela McGownd picked up a match high 18 digs. Setters Alexandra Aguilera and Caitlin Sharrock distributed 23 and 17 assists, respectively.
 
All four sets went back and forth at the beginning and it looked like McNeese was going to pick up its first set win of the season in the opening set.
 
McNeese eventually took a seven-point lead in the opening set but couldn't hold onto to the lead. LUC got within two points and eventually took the lead, 21-20 after a huge run before claiming the set.
 
The Cowgirls bounced back in set two with a 25-23 win. Once again the set went back and forth at the beginning but McNeese put together a mini-run to take a 12-9 lead, forcing a LUC timeout.
 
Following the timeout, LUC scored the next three points to tie the set at 12 all but McNeese put together another run for a 17-12 lead on a Sharrock service ace. McNeese held the lead for the rest of the set and took advantage of a service error by the Ramblers to claim the set.
 
It looked like McNeese would take an overall 2-1 match lead after they opened the third set 6-2 then extended the lead to 10-4. The Cowgirls held its largest lead of the set at 13-5 on an ace by Angela McGownd.
 
With McNeese holding a 19-13 lead, LUC outscored McNeese 9-2 to take a 24-21 lead including three straight Cowgirl attacking errors. McNeese scored a point on a LUC attack error before a Rambler kill gave LUC a 2-1 match lead.
 
In the final set, both teams traded points until the Ramblers took control of the set, leading 16-13. LUC closed out the set on a 9-3 run to take the set and the overall match.
 
McNeese will once again hit the road next weekend by taking part in the Denver Classic. Here McNeese will face Sacramento State Friday and Denver and UC-Santa Barbara on Saturday.