First-year defensive specialist Lauren Caprini was on Loyola women’s volleyball head coach Amanda Berkley’s recruiting radar since she was head coach at University of Southern Mississippi. Berkley recognized Loyola needed a defensive specialist, so she turned to Caprini.
Caprini, a native of western suburb St. Charles, accepted an offer from Berkley to join the team as a walk-on April 24, making her the first recruit of the Berkley era at Loyola. There wasn’t a scholarship available for Berkley to give to Caprini; nonetheless Caprini’s impact has been felt.
Through 12 non-conference games, Caprini leads the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) with 21 service aces and has recorded 104 digs, which is when a player saves a ball from hitting the ground — the second most on the team.