Oct. 29, 2005

Portland - 3
Gonzaga - 0

The University of Portland's volleyball team recorded its first West Coast Conference victory of the 2005 season on Saturday afternoon, delivering a 3-0 (30-18, 30-23, 30-21) win over Gonzaga.

Outside hitter Sara Vercruyssen paced the Pilot attack, posting a match-high 13 kills and adding 13 digs for her fifth double-double of the season. Both of the Pilots' freshman middles got into the offensive act as well, as Jennifer Sheedy had 11 kills and Ashley Grayson put 10 down. Liz Lord had one of her best games of the season, converting for six kills and no errors on 11 attacks and adding three total blocks. Kelly Whitehouse tied her season highs in both kills (7) and digs (8).

The Pilots hit for .270 during the match and held the Bulldogs to just .081. Portland had seven total blocks compared to Gonzaga's three, and also bested the Bulldogs 49-28 in kills.

"I feel like we've been playing well lately, and today we finally strung 90 points together doing the things we've been working on in practice," Pilots head coach Doug Sparks said after the game. "Our freshmen middles came up huge today, and Sheedy will be an All-WCC performer very soon with the way she is progressing."

Out to avenge their five-game loss to Gonzaga earlier this month, the Pilots came out strong in Game 1. Portland strung together a 9-2 run to open the game, and a five-point run midway through the game gave the Pilots an insurmountable lead.

Game 2, which featured a sparkling .409 hitting percentage by the Pilots, again saw Portland jump out to an early lead. The Pilots were up 10-4 before allowing Gonzaga to climb back in the game, but a kill by Liz Lord gave Portland a 30-23 win.

Sparks took a timeout early in Game 3 after Gonzaga had built up a 6-5 lead. After the break in action, the Pilots went on an 8-4 run to seize the lead and never looked back. Portland took the final game by a count of 30-21.

Sheena Surplus recorded 39 assists during the match, leaving her just eight short of tying Portland's all-time career record. Barring injury, she should set the mark during next weekend's Santa Clara match.

Today's match is the first time since 1999 that a Portland/Gonzaga competition has ended in a three-game sweep. The teams had played in at least four games for 11 consecutive matches before today.

Portland will face two ranked opponents next weekend. No. 12 Santa Clara visits the Chiles Center for a 7:00 p.m. match on Nov. 4, while No. 20 San Diego will play the Pilots on Nov. 5.

Saint Mary's - 3
San Francisco - 0

Moraga, CA - The Saint Mary's women's volleyball team swept the season series against San Francisco for the second consecutive year, beating the Dons 3-0 on Saturday night at McKeon Pavilion. The Gaels beat the Dons 3-1 earlier this season at San Francisco and have now won four straight matches against their cross-bay rivals.

With the win the Gaels improve to 6-2 in West Coast Conference play, remain in second place, and improve to 15-5 overall. San Francisco dropped to 2-6 in conference play and 15-9 overall. The Gaels won 30-20, 32-30, 30-24.

The Gaels were led offensively by senior Kaui Salzman, who had a match-high 17 kills with a .556 hitting percentage. Salzman also added eight digs, two aces and three blocks.

Saint Mary's was also led by Cassandra Kolkka, who had 10 kills with a .381 hitting percentage and three aces. Missie Stidham had nine kills, seven digs and five aces.

Junior setter Mandy Bible had 39 assists and six digs, Christina Kirk had four kills, four blocks and two aces and Lyndsey Parker had seven digs.

In the first game the Gaels hit .308 compared to San Francisco's .097. Saint Mary's hit .293 in the second game and .314 in the third game.

Saint Mary's returns to action on Friday, November 4 when it travels to Pepperdine to face the Waves at 7:05 p.m. The Gaels will face Loyola Marymount on Saturday, November 5 at 7:05 p.m. in Los Angeles.

San Diego - 3
Pepperdine - 0

SAN DIEGO, CA - One night after losing their first home match in over a year, 20th-ranked San Diego rebounded in a big way- running through Pepperdine in three games Saturday in the Jenny Craig Pavilion. Junior MH Christie Dawson approached a three-game school record with 24 kills as San Diego (16-5; 5-4 WCC) moves its home record to 7-1 this fall. Game scores went (30-18, 30-27 & 30-22).

Dawson, named an All-WCC player as both a freshman and sophomore, established a new three-game career-high in kills and was just seven shy of Petia Yanchulova's school-best three-game effort of 31 set against Wisconsin in 1998. The junior from Apple Valley, California, hit a stellar .400 Saturday night, making just six errors in 45 attempts.

Senior teammate Lindsey Sherburne distributed 46 assists (15.3 apg) and added 12 digs. A USD defense that was led by senior liberos Jackie Bernardin and Monica Peterson limited the Waves to a lowly .137 attacking clip.

Pepperdine (12-10; 5-4 WCC), a team that went 42-0 in West Coast Conference play from 2001-2003 is swept in league play for the second straight night- having lost to first-place Santa Clara Friday. Both Katy Daly and Julie Rubenstein had 10 kills to pace the Waves.

San Diego next makes a trip to the Pacific Northwest for WCC matches against Gonzaga (Friday 7pm) and Portland (Saturday 7pm) November 4-5.

Santa Clara - 3
Loyola Marymount - 1

Santa Clara, Calif. - Halloween is just two days away, but the No. 12 Santa Clara women's volleyball has given their fans something far sweeter than candy. After defeating West Coast Conference rival Loyola Marymount 3-1 tonight at the Leavey Center, Santa Clara is edging closer to an undefeated conference record, as they are now 9-0 in the WCC. The Broncos have never gone undefeated in conference play, though that is the last thing on team's mind according to Santa Clara head coach Jon Wallace. "We have Portland next Friday night," Wallace firmly stated, not willing to even acknowledge his team is on the verge of an undefeated season. "The girls will have the next few days off and hopefully they will come back on Wednesday a little rejuvenated and mentally ready as we make that last push to the end of our conference schedule."

Junior outside hitter Kim McGiven paced SCU in the 30-28, 31-29, 27-30, and 30-16 victory, pounding down 21 kills to go along with her 12 digs. Freshman outside hitter Brittany Lowe recorded her ninth double double of the season, as she tied her career high in digs with 19, while adding 16 kills in the winning effort. Senior opposite Cassie Perret and sophomore middle blocker Anna Cmaylo chipped in 14 and 12 kills, respectively. Junior middle blocker Megan Pura posted a match-high eight blocks on the night, while sophomore libero Caroline Walters was effective in the back row, accumulating 17 digs.

Although Wallace felt his team did not play up to their potential tonight, he was impressed at how well his squad was able to come together and grind out the victory.

"I didn't have our best game tonight and it showed in our passing," admitted Wallace. "However, I give the girls a lot of credit for beating a strong opponent even when they aren't on their game."

To start off game one, the Broncos bolted to an 8-4 lead behind the early front-row efforts of Cmaylo and Lowe, forcing the Lions to call a timeout. Loyola Marymount would then go on a 9-1 run to take a seeming commanding 14-10 edge. SCU battled back to eventually tie the match up at 19-19, but LMU continued to push on and take control of the match. Down 25-28, Santa Clara dug down deep and managed to string together a 5-1 run to end the Loyola Marymount threat in the opening frame.

As in game one, the second frame started off with the Broncos taking a lead in the early going, only to see the Lions recover and tie it up at 10-10. Santa Clara pulled away on the strength of its offense and a Lowe kill extended the lead to 22-17. Game point was eventually reached after Loyola Marymount service error made it 29-25, but the Lions strung together four consecutive points to stall the SCU victory, forcing Wallace to call a timeout to settle down his troops. On the following play, a block by Muratore and Perret set up another game point and the game was sealed thanks to a LMU hitting error.

After the eight-minute intermission, SCU took an early 6-4 lead behind the powerful hitting of McGiven, as she accounted for three of the team's points. The advantage swelled to 19-13 after a Cmaylo kill, but the Lions fought back to close the gap and tie it up at 21-21 after a Muratore attack error. Loyola Marymount pulled away slightly at 25-24 after a Santa Clara miscue and eventually, reached game point after an own kill. Lowe hit the ball long to give game three to the visitors.

Game four started off with Santa Clara taking a 9-4 lead, behind two kills by McGiven and three kills and a solo block by Lowe. Thanks to three consecutive kills by Perret, along with solid defense up at the net and in the back row, the lead ballooned to 13-6 and as a result, Loyola Marymount called a timeout. The Broncos' advantage grew as big as 12 points after a LMU rotation violation made the score 26-14. Sophomore setter Crystal Matich jump served the final three points of the game and Lowe and Pura ended the game with a decisive block.

With the victory, the Broncos won their 13th match in a row and ups their season record to 20-1. The Lions fall to 16-7 in 2005 and 4-5 in the WCC. Santa Clara returns to action next weekend when it travels to the Pacific Northwest to take on Portland and Gonzaga. Game times are scheduled for 7 p.m. on both nights at their opponent's respective gyms.