Volleyball learns NAIA National Championship destination Monday

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – The Loyola University New Orleans volleyball team learned its opponent and destination on Monday for the NAIA National Championship Opening Round. The Wolf Pack will take on No. 16 St. Thomas University (Fla.) on Saturday, with the winner advancing to the NAIA National Championship final site in Sioux City, Iowa. 
 

Game time is still to be determined. 
 

We have our opponent.

The SSAC Champion Wolf Pack will travel to No. 16 St. Thomas for an NAIA National Championship Opening Round match. #GeauxPack pic.twitter.com/HIYwUihky7

— Loyola New Orleans Athletics (@LoyolaWolfPack) November 17, 2025

There are 24 opening round sites around the country, and the winners of each one will make up the final site field. In Sioux City, the final site will feature eight pools, and the winners of each pool will advance to the quarterfinals. From there, it'll be single elimination until an NAIA champion is crowned. 
 

Loyola (29-8) and St. Thomas (25-4) have already met this season, and it was the Wolf Pack defeating the then-No. 9-ranked Bobcats in four sets at Florida College's Labor Day Classic on Aug. 30. St. Thomas has gone 19-1 with a Sun Conference Championship since the Pack won that match. 
 

Loyola is coming off a 24-8 overall regular-season, finishing in second place in the Southern States Athletic Conference standings. The Wolf Pack then won five matches in three days over the weekend, including a win against No. 22 Mobile, to claim the program's first SSAC Championship title. Samantha Guillotte was named the SSAC Championship MVP, and Alexa Palmer and Clarissa Dupree joined her on the All-Tournament Team. 
 

Before the championship began, the program had seven players and coaches honored with all-conference awards. Head coach Robert Pitre was named the SSAC Coach of the Year, Jenna Ibieta was awarded the Assistant Coach of the Year title, and Isis Harink was tabbed the league's Attacker and Freshman of the Year. Joining Harink on the All-Conference First Team were Palmer and Kala Emanuelli, while Guillotte and Ivana De Carvalho Peixe were both picked to the All-Conference Second Team. 
 

Loyola has five attackers who are averaging more than two kills per set, with Guillotte (2.66), Harink (2.4), Palmer (2.37), Dupree (2.08) and Peixe (2.03) giving the Wolf Pack ample options with their attack. Belén Puche Laguna and Ellie Connor continue to assist those attacks in Loyola's 6-2 rotation, totaling 671 and 622 assists, respectively, this season, and Emanuelli has been a steady libero with 651 digs and a 4.89 dig-per-set average. 
 

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