NEW ORLEANS – The University of West Alabama volleyball team picked up a much-needed pair of victories on Saturday, defeating both Dillard and Loyola (La.) at the 2010 Hampton Inn Wolfpack Classic. The Tigers improve to 6-11 (0-4 Gulf South Conference) on the year with the wins.

In the first contest of the day, the Red and White easily dispatched Dillard winning in three by scores of 25-16, 25-16 and 25-19.

The tone for the match was set by Thais Hollerbach who recorded five kills and committed no errors in the first set en route to a team-high eight kills in the match. Katelyn Beardshear was second on the team with seven kills and was followed by Olivia Drew who turned in six. Alex McHale paced the Tigers by dishing out 12 helpers, while Drew chipped in with eight.

Defensively against Dillard, three Tigers each recorded seven digs – Casey Byrnes, Hollerbach and Beardshear.

UWA immediately faced the host institution and Loyola took advantage by taking the first set from the Tigers with a 25-23 victory. West Alabama bounced back nicely, however, and won three straight sets by scores of 25-23, 25-16, and 25-21 to seal the match.

The team hit at a .310 clip in the second and recorded a .355 hitting percentage in the fourth frame.

The 3-1 victory over the Wolfpack was aided by several impressive offensive performances. Beardshear was tops on the squad with 13 kills while Hollerbach also recorded double-figures with 10 in the contest. Angela Sanders compiled a .391 hitting percentage while racking up nine kills, and Kelly Cobb hit at a .444 clip while also collecting nine kills. Myeasha Williams turned in the team's highest attack percentage with a .600 performance as she picked up seven kills.

McHale and Drew led the way with 28 and 16 assists, respectively, while Hollerbach and Byrnes each had three aces in the match.

The pair of Hollerbach – 28 – and Byrnes – 23 – again led the way in digs.

The Tigers will return home for one of just two home games in the month of October when they welcome North Alabama to Pruitt Hall on Tuesday night. The match is slated for 7 p.m., and live stats and a video broadcast will be available at www.uwatigers.com.

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