Sept. 9, 2005

Loyola Marymount - 3
Columbia - 0

Sacramento, Calif. - Loyola Marymount volleyball improved to 4-0 after defeating Columbia (0-1) 3-0 (30-26, 30-23, 30-24) in match one of the Sacramento State Invitational at the Hornets Nest Friday. LMU's Jania Motton returned from injury for her first action of the season and posted eight kills in nine swings for a .889 attack percentage.

Though falling behind 8-4 in the opening game, the Lions put together a 13-4 run to take a five point lead at 17-12. LMU held Columbia to just a .067 team hitting percentage to take the first game 30-26.

Game two kept the teams within two points of each other, before LMU turned it on at 21-19. The Lions used a 9-4 run to seal the game, hitting a match-high .304 as a team. LMU once again held Columbia to hit just .068.

Senior Krista Houseman gave the Lions the 10-8 lead in game three, and the Lions pulled away with the 30-24 win to secure the sweep.

Sophomore Heather Hughes finished with a team-high 14 kills. Senior Dina Debernardi finished with a season-high seven blocks.

Freshman Katie Glomb's 15 digs helped the Lions out-dig Columbia 67-44.

The Lions remain undefeated, with Friday night's victory being the first road win of the season.

LMU continues play at the Sacramento State Invitational on Saturday, facing Nevada in the midday 12:30 p.m. match-up. The Lions will later meet host Sacramento State at 7:30 p.m.

San Diego - 3 Florida A&M - 2

BERKELEY, CA - Playing on a neutral floor in Cal-Berkeley's Haas Pavilion Friday night, No. 20 San Diego improved to 5-1 after a five-game victory over Florida A&M. The junior duo of Kristen Carlson and Christie Dawson (pictured) were outstanding for USD, combining to total 48 kills. Game scores went 30-27, 32-34, 30-18, 25-30 & 15-13. San Diego will next face tournament host California on Saturday.

The reigning West Coast Conference Champion Toreros needed all five games to get by Florida A&M. After hitting at a proficient .455 clip to win the opening game, San Diego committed nine attacking errors en route to dropping an extended second game 34-32.

Led by All-American Lindsey Sherburne, who passed out 68 assists and had eight digs, USD responded by easily taking Game Three 30-18 and held on to win the deciding fifth game 15-13. Along with Carlson and Dawson, three other USD players reached double-figures in kills Friday night. Sophomore starters Laurel Abrahamson and Erin Wiskar had 11 and 12 kills respectively and Moira McCarthy added 13 in the winning effort.

Santa Clara - 3 Arizona - 1

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Eyebrows were raised among the college volleyball community when the Santa Clara women's volleyball team was not ranked in the CSTV/AVCA Top 25 Preseason Poll in August, and even after earning a No. 25 ranking earlier in the week, the Broncos were still intent on proving that they are among the nation's elite.

They did just that with a gutsy 3-1 (30-20, 30-20, 27-30, 33-31) victory over the 15th-ranked Arizona Wildcats (4-1) in the Bronco Invitational at the Leavey Center on Friday night. After the Wildcats averted the sweep by taking Game three, they pushed the Broncos (5-0) to the limit in Game four before falling 33-31. At match point, two crucial pieces of Santa Clara's wall, Cassie Perret and Megan Pura, rejected a Wildcat attack and sealed the win.

"It started off in the first two games that we were dialed in on them, we just went right off the scouting report," said head coach Jon Wallace. "We played real smoothly and I felt that it took them off their rhythm a little bit, and that's probably why we won game two as easily as well. I thought in game three that that was the Arizona team we were expecting to see. Good teams can make adjustments, and they did, and they had the energy for awhile. I told our team in game four, `Want it more than they do and stay aggressive.'"

After putting the Wildcats in a deep 2-0 hole early, the Broncos had to buckle down and keep at it against a foe who would just not go away. The two teams battled back and forth in a taut third game, one in which either team's biggest lead never was more than three points. The Wildcats eventually took the game to stay alive, and looked to steal Game four from the Broncos by jumping out to an early lead.

But Santa Clara refused to wilt. The Broncos fought their way back and later overcame a 23-19 deficit to tie the match at 26. The two teams traded points up until a Perret kill kept Santa Clara alive against game point, and the Broncos reeled off the next two points to clinch the win. Commented Wallace: "We talked about playing in the moment. They came together as a team and individually and they went out and made it happen." Perret led Santa Clara with 18 kills in the match to go along with 10 digs and a hitting percentage of .467. Crystal Matich also had a great night, finishing with eight kills, 61 assists and 10 digs while hitting an amazing .889.

Bronco Invitational action continues tomorrow as the Wildcats match up against Fresno State at 12:30 p.m. followed by No. 25 Santa Clara's attempt to capture the tournament crown when they host No. 18 UC Santa Barbara at 3 p.m.

Montana - 3
Gonzaga - 1

MISSOULA, Mont. - The Gonzaga University volleyball team's five-match win streak came to an end on Friday night but not without a fight as the host University of Montana (6-2) Grizzlies had to hold off the Bulldogs in three of four games as they won 30-28, 27-30, 30-23, 30-25 in opening round action of the Ruby's Invitational. Gonzaga fell to 5-3 on the year and will face the University of New Mexico and UC Davis on Saturday.

Down by four points in the opening game Gonzaga was able to knot the score at 28-28 before the Grizzlies closed out the match with the final two points. Claudia Houle had one of her match-high 22 kills to close out game one. Gonzaga had 16 kills in the first game compared to 17 kills for UM.

Freshman Michelle Boevers carried the Bulldogs in game two as they again started four points down before Jessica Herrera served them back into a 15-15 tie. Boevers and fellow freshman Paige Dillingham picked up three quick kills and Gonzaga pushed out to a lead they would never surrender in game two.

Gonzaga fell behind in games three and four as Jessica Peterson and EvaLyn Whitehead helped pace the Montana offense. Peterson had 11 kills and Whitehead 10. Boevers attempted to keep the Bulldogs within striking range as she led all GU players with 15 kills for the match. Dillingham was the Bulldogs most effective attacker finishing with seven kills and a .353 attack percentage.

Both teams had four players reach double-digit digs as Gonzaga finished with 72 and Montana with 77. Jackie White led the Grizzlies with 23 while Becky Jones picked up 18 for GU to go along with 14 kills. It was the third double-double of the season for Jones who had the most swings for Gonzaga with 47.

Megan Thompson dropped in 3 aces for Gonzaga. Jade Roskam countered with 3 for Montana. Briawna Mueller had 6 blocks for GU while Peterson finished with 7 for UM.

Nebraska - 3
Pepperdine - 1

LINCOLN, Neb. - The Pepperdine women's volleyball team knew its match against top-ranked Nebraska in game two of the Info USA/Arby's Players Challenge was going to test their abilities Friday night in Lincoln, Neb. And while the team came out on the short side of a 3-1 (30-24, 30-26, 28-30, 30-19) decision, the team seemed to find identity and open some of the eyes of the 4,176 in attendance at the Nebraska Coliseum.

Pepperdine (2-2) opened the night by scoring three quick points on the `Huskers as Sophia Milo teamed up with Melissa Mehlhorn and Katy Daly on a pair of blocks. But NU would answer with a 3-0 spurt of its own to lock the game at 3-all. The Waves would regain a two-point lead at 8-6 on a Jordan Lawson attack error. Three consecutive Nebraska kills followed a Mehlhorn service error as Pepperdine called a timeout trailing 10-9. The `Huskers would not trial the rest of the game despite the Waves' cutting the lead to one on numerous occasions.

Julie Rubenstein led the Waves with a match-high 18 kills on the night but it was the Pepperdine duo of Lecca Roberts and Milo who continuously found soft spots in the Nebraska defense. Milo finished the night with 13 kills and five blocks, while Roberts recorded 11 kills and four blocks.

"I felt like I played well," said Rubenstein who has reached double-digit kill totals in every game of her college career. "I wasn't really all that nervous playing in front of the Nebraska crown because I just played in Reno not too long ago and there were about 4000 people there too. My main goal tonight was to try and slow down Pavan. She is such a great player that she is going to get her kills but I feel like I did a good job of keeping her from controlling the match."

Nebraska (6-0) was paced by Christina Houghtelling's 17 kills, while Sarah Pavan recorded a triple-double with 11 kills, 10 digs and 11 blocks. Melissa Elmer chipped in with 12 kills and 13 blocks. NU was held well below its season average attack percentage of .304, hitting just .239 on the night including .400 in game four.

Game two was a tight affair from start to finish as for the second time of the night Pepperdine opened a 3-0 lead to start the game. Nebraska would knot the game at 3-3 but would not take a lead until 6-5. The game was a back-and-forth battle from there over the next several points. With the score tied at 12-all, NU embarked on a 5-0 run which ended as Rubenstein's kill brought the score to 15-13, `Huskers. Pepperdine would find itself down by seven at 24-17 when Rubenstein began to take over. The Camarillo, Calif., native recorded a kill and a solo block which sent the Waves on a 7-0 run and evened the game up at 24-24, much to the dismay of a sold out pro-Husker crowd. During the run, Rubenstein was in on three blocks, two solo. But NU proved to be too much in the end and took a 2-0 lead into the lockerroom.

Nebraska was the team off to the quick start in game three as Houghtelling opened the game with a kill which was followed by a Pepperdine attack error. But a Milo and Mehlhorn block combined with a NU error evened the game at 2-2. Pepperdine would continue to keep the offensive throttle down and take the 7-3 lead off a Rubenstein kill. The Waves held onto its lead as the teams traded sideouts until a 3-0 run evened the game at 23-23, when head coach Nina Matthies elected to take a time out and slow the `Husker momentum. The stoppage worked as Roberts kept Pepperdine in the lead. The game would be knotted at 25 and 26 before a Nebraska service ace gave NU the 27-26 advantage and forced Pepperdine into its final timeout of the game. Rubenstein evened the game at 27 with a kill and Daly followed suit with a kill and a solo block to give the Waves a pair of game-point tries. Following a `Husker kill, Milo secured the game for the Waves with a kill.

"During the break I challenged the girls to take a game off them," commented Matthies after the match. "I told them they were still in the match and to relax and win a game. I think maybe Nebraska relaxed a little bit too, being up 2-0 but they still played hard as did we. At this point in the season, they deserve to be ranked number one. They are a really good team. We are too and we will continue to get better as the season goes along."

Game four opened with the Waves staring at a 7-2 deficit. But a 5-0 Pepperdine run evened the game at 7-all. Tied at 8-8, Roberts was called for being in the net giving NU a lead it would never lose. Nebraska found its serve and Pepperdine had to force the ball to the outside creating numerous block chances for the `Huskers who ended the night with 22 blocks to Pepperdine's 12.5.

The Waves will return to action tomorrow afternoon when they take on No. 4 Penn State (5-1) at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. The Nittany Lions swept the Pacific Tigers in the tournament opener. Saturday's meeting will mark the first-ever meeting between the two schools.

Cal Poly - 3
Portland - 0

The University of Portland's women's volleyball team was swept 3-0 by Cal Poly in the first game of the Cal Poly/Best Western Royal Oak Invitational. The loss drops the Pilots' record to 1-6 on the season, while Cal Poly improves to 5-1.

Portland was close in each of the three games to the Mustangs, but just couldn't close the gap in any of them. Cal Poly's Vanessa Gilliam led all players with 14 kills, while the Pilots' Murphy McClenahan and the Mustangs' Kristin Jackson each had a game-high 24 digs.

The Pilots were led statistically by hard-hitting sophomore Nicole Thometz, who recorded her third double-double of the young season. Thometz had 13 kills and 11 digs, while senior Sara Vercruyssen chipped in with 13 kills.

Portland will finish off the tournament with two matches on Saturday, meeting San Jose State at 11:30 a.m. and Loyola (Md.) College at 4:30 p.m.

Oregon - 3
San Francisco - 1

Cal State Fullerton - 3
San Francisco - 1

Portland, OR - USF volleyball's eight-game winning streak was halted by Oregon 3-1 (25-30, 30-28, 30-27, 30-25) in the opening day of the 2005 Portland State Viking Showcase Friday afternoon at the Stott Center. San Francisco (8-2) then fell again in four games to Cal State Fullerton (25-30, 30-28, 30-16, 30-25) in its second match of the day.

Sophomore outside hitter Kristin Hasselberg tallied a team-high 15 kills against the Ducks in the opener, while senior middle blocker KeLicia Shorts added 13 kills on .407 hitting to go along with nine blocks. Oregon hit at a .199 pace for the match, while the Dons managed a .177 percentage.

USF once again struggled with consistency against the Titans. After hitting at an impressive .425 clip in game one, the Dons could not recover their offensive production against Fullerton. Hasselberg tallied a match-high 22 kills on .312 hitting, while Shorts added 14 kills and three blocks. The Titans connected at a .260 pace for the match, while USF hit .189

San Francisco head coach Jeff Nelson was concerned with the lack of consistency displayed on the opening day of the tournament.

"We played well in stretches, but that does not get the job done at this level. We must learn from these tough losses, make the adjustments and return to the level of volleyball we are capable of playing," Nelson said.

USF returns to action Saturday with a pair of matches at the Viking Showcase. The Dons take on the Purple Aces of Evansville at 2:30 PM and then face the host Vikings of Portland State at 7:30 PM. Both matches are in the Stott Center.