Sept. 11, 2004

SAN BRUNO, Calif. - It was another busy day for WCC women's volleyball as all eight teams hit the court Saturday. Loyola Marymount recorded two wins on the day against Cincinnati and Washington State. The Lions swept Cincinnati 3-0 and beat Washington State 3-1. Saint Mary's also came away with two wins after beating Oral Roberts 3-2 and Oregon State 3-2. San Diego was the third WCC team to record two wins on the day as they swept North Carolina and Pittsburgh 3-0. Pepperdine, Portland, Santa Clara and Gonzaga all recorded wins on the day.

Loyola Marymount - 3
Cincinnati - 0

Loyola Marymount handed Cincinnati its first loss of the season, sweeping the Bearcats 3-0 to remained undefeated at the LMU Furama Hotel Invitational. LMU (5-1) will take on Washington State (1-5) at 7:00 p.m. in tonight's final tournament match-up.

Senior Jody Carlson tallied nine kills and hit .471 as LMU won the afternoon match 30-24, 35-33, 30-26. Junior Krista Houseman once again led the Lions in kills with 11.

Game two served as the highlight as the match as the two teams battled well past the typical 30-point game. Overall, Cincinnati out-hit LMU .341-.180 in the game, but a Dina DeBernardi kill earned the Lions game point at 34-33. Seniors Kelli Nerison and Nicole Oehlman sealed the deal with a block for the 35-33 win.

Cincinnati was led by Maria Pongonis and Julie Dupont, who combined for 29 kills. The Bearcats will play back-to-back matches in the tournament, taking on Miami at 5:00 p.m.

The Lions return to action tonight in the final match of the 2004 LMU Furama Hotel Invitational when they face Washington State (1-5) at 7:30 p.m. Fans can follow the action on Gametracker or listen live on the Lions' Audio Network at www.LMULions.com.

Loyola Marymount - 3
Washington State - 1

Loyola Marymount volleyball (6-1) claimed the 2004 LMU Furama Hotel Invitational Saturday night by defeating Washington State (1-6) in Gersten Pavilion 26-30, 30-23, 30-21, 30-22. The Lions fought to win three straight games after WSU took game one.

Setter Nicole Oehlman was named tournament MVP after her 50 assist, seven kill performance Saturday night. She also led the Lion offense to a .315 team attack percentage, including a .536 third game.

Junior Dina DeBernardi and freshman Heather Hughes also represented LMU on the all-tournament team. Jennifer Todd (WSU), Kelly Rosin (WSU), Val Tipiana (Miami), and Rachel Torblaa (Cincinnati) rounded out the all-tournament selections.

Four Lions registered double-digit kills for the second straight night, with DeBernardi and Hughes leading the way with 14 each. Hughes had her second career double-double, adding 10 digs. Junior Michelle Look posted a game-high 18 digs.

Oehlman, who entered the week among West Coast Conference leaders in service aces, posted back-to-back aces early in game one, leading LMU to the 14-12 lead. But Washington State out-hit LMU .359 to .191 in the first game, en route to the 30-26 win.

The Lions returned the favor in the second game, holding the Cougars to just a .021 average and out-blocking WSU 5.0 to 1.0. Kelli Nerison earned game point for the Lions with her fourth kill of the night, while Krista Houseman put the exclamation point on the 30-23 win with a hard shot of her own.

LMU hit a game-high .536 in game three, as back-to-back service aces by Houseman sealed the game win 30-21.

Jody Carlson served for three straight points in the fourth game, while Hughes and DeBernardi posted kills and DeBernardi and Oehlman teamed up for a block to give the Lions a 27-17 advantage. Nerison ended the game with her 10th kill of the night, as LMU won three straight to avenge the game one loss. Nerison finished the match hitting a game-high .529.

Washington State, led by Kelly Rosin's 19 kills and 10 digs, secured the tournament's second place finish by winning the first game. That game one win broke the three-way tie for second between WSU, Miami, and Cincinnati, who all finished the weekend 1-2.

The Lions will play one more contest this week in Gersten Pavilion before heading out on a seven-match road swing. LMU and UC Riverside square off on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. Fans can follow the game live on the Lions' Audio Network and the Gametracker, both available at www.LMULions.com.

Pepperdine - 3
Nicholls State - 2

The ninth-ranked Pepperdine volleyball team was pushed to the limit Saturday at the McKale Center in Tucson, Ariz. as it relied on a dominate performance in game five to avert being upset for the third time this weekend. The Waves recorded six kills with zero errors in the deceive game and moved to 2-3 on the year with a 28-30, 30-19, 30-16, 24-30, 15-4 victory over Nicholls State at the Four Points University Plaza Wildcat Classic.

Pepperdine's attack was overpowering in games two, three and five, and was paced by junior Katy Daly's (San Clemente, Calif./San Clemente) match-high 22 kills. All told, five Waves notched double-digit kill efforts as Kristen Shultz (Sebastopol, Calif./Analy) finished with 14 and three other players ended the day with 12.

Daly tacked on 17 digs for her fourth double-double of the year, while Shultz logged her third double-double with 10 digs. Christina Hinds (Beverly Hills, Calif./William & Mary) was solid defensively for Pepperdine recording 17 digs marking the fifth time in as many contests the senior has finished with a double-digit dig total.

Nicholls State (0-6) out dug the Waves 72-67 behind a 25-dig effort from Ashley Miksch. Offensively, the Colonel's were led by Ashley Muaina and Brenda Ross's 15 kills.

After trailing game one wire-to-wire, Pepperdine's offense responded with a 17-kill, two-error performance (.469) in game two and an 18-kill, seven-error performance (.275) in game three to take a 2-1 lead in the match. In contrast, Nicholls State hit just .077 and minus .129 during games two and three.

Pepperdine recorded 75 total kills in the match to Nicholls State's 48, but committed 13 service errors to keep the Colonels in the match.

The Waves will return to action next weekend as it travels to Fort Collins, Colo. for the UPHI Classic where it will take on Southern Mississippi, #10 Colorado State and Ohio Fri.-Sun.

Portland - 3
Buffalo - 0

Hard hitting action by Monique Kettler, Kelly Whitehouse and Sara Vercruyssen led the Pilot volleyball team past the University of Buffalo in a quick three-game (30-18, 30-10, 30-23) sweep at the 10th annual Holiday Inn Classic hosted by Montana State University. The Pilots roll on a four-match win streak and improve to 4-2 on the year. The Bulls drop to 4-5 overall.

"We're 3-0 in the tournament right now and are playing for the championship tonight," said head coach Doug Sparks. "We played great from top to bottom, we passed great, and with a little luck and if we continue to play this well, hopefully we'll win this tournament."

Portland came out in game one attacking. After posting 35 attempts, the Pilots were able to put 18 away with just five attacking errors for a .371 hitting efficiency. The Bulls hit for just .132 in the game, managing 12 kills. Portland held the advantage throughout game one as the score was tied only once at 1-1.

The Pilots' best game of the match came when they held Buffalo to just four kills and a sub -.188 hitting percentage, while pounding out 17 kills and hitting for a game-high .387. The Pilots were able to push for points early, jumping out to a 15-3 lead. Ten of the 15 Pilot points early on came from Portland's offensive attack and towering block. Portland was able to cruise easily into the break with a crushing 30-10 victory.

Game three was the closest Buffalo would come to tarnishing Portland's dominance as the score was tied eight times and there were four lead changes. Although Portland came up with 16 kills in the game, the .158 hitting percentage was a game-low. The Bulls didn't fair much better as they recorded just 12 kills and a .081 hitting percentage. The Pilots outscored Buffalo 9-4 down the stretch for a 30-23 win.

Freshman Kelly Whitehouse led all players with 12 kills, hitting for .429 in the match. Kettler and Vercruyssen tallied 10 kills each, while Murphy McClenahan led the defensive efforts with 12 digs. Sheena Surplus posted 42 assists on the day. As a team, Portland posted a .298 hitting percentage and eight total team blocks.

No Buffalo players recorded double-figure kills in the match as the Bulls hit for just .019 as a team. Nikki Morzenti led the team with eight kills and six digs.

Saint Mary's - 3
Oral Roberts - 2

The Saint Mary's volleyball team needed five games to defeat Oral Roberts University in its second game of the Salbasgeon Suites Invitational hosted by Oregon State in Corvallis, OR on Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Gaels improve to 6-0 on the season, the best start in school history, and will play for the tournament title at 7:30 p.m. Saturday against host Oregon State.

The Gaels jumped out to an early 2-0 lead after beating the Golden Eagles 30-23 in Game 1 and 30-20 in Game 2. But Oral Roberts battled back, beating Saint Mary's 30-23 in Game 3 and 30-23 in Game 4. The Gaels finally edged out Oral Roberts in Game 5 with an 18-16 victory. Oral Roberts fell to 2-4 with the loss.

In the five-game match, the Gaels were led by senior opposite hitter Lindsey Bogason. Bogason recorded a double-double with a team-high 18 kills and 13 digs. Junior outside hitter Kaui Salzman had a double-double with 15 kills and 10 digs and sophomore outside hitter Cassandra Kolkka added a double-double with 12 kills and 14 digs.

Sophomore setter Mandy Bible set the pace with a double-double, leading the way with 58 assists and 13 digs. Freshman Melissa Stidham had a team-high 26 digs.

As a team the Gaels finished with 68 kills and a .219 hitting percentage. Saint Mary's also recorded 40 blocks and 79 digs.

Saint Mary's - 3
Oregon State - 2

The Saint Mary's volleyball team stayed undefeated on the season and won its sixth consecutive tournament when it beat Oregon State 3-2 in the championship game of the Salbasgeon Suites Invitational hosted by Oregon State on Saturday night. The Gaels improved to 7-0 on the season, the best start in school history.

On Saturday night in the championship game, the Gaels had to come from behind for the first time this season to beat the Beavers. Saint Mary's won the first game 30-27, and then lost the next two games 34-32 and 30-25, before beating Oregon State 30-24 and 17-15 in the final two games.

The victory over the Beavers marks the first victory in four tries against Oregon State. The Gaels avenged a home loss to Oregon State in 2003.

In the game the Gaels were led by junior outside hitter Kaui Salzman, who posted a double-double with 19 kills and 21 digs. Lindsey Bogason had 17 kills and nine digs, Cassandra Kolkka and Mariko Coverdale each had 14 kills, and Stacey O'Connor had 13 kills. Mandy Bible had 68 assists in the game for the Gaels.

Bogason and Bible were each named to the All-Tournament team for the Gaels. As a team the Gaels had a .273 hitting percentage and 27 blocks.

Saint Mary's returns to action on Tuesday, September 14 at 7:05 p.m. when they host San Jose State at McKeon Pavilion.

San Diego - 3
North Carolina - 0

San Diego - 3
Pittsburgh - 0

No. 20 San Diego won six straight games against both North Carolina and Pittsburgh Saturday at the University of Colorado Invitational Tournament in Boulder. San Diego (4-2) defeated North Carolina by scores of (30-24, 30-16, 30-26) during Saturday's morning session and capped the day off with a sweep of Pittsburgh (30-20, 30-22, 30-25). The Toreros take home second-place honors at the tournament, after letting a two-game lead over host and eventual tournament champion Colorado slip away Friday.

Playing without All-America candidate Devon Forster, the Toreros used a balanced offensive attack to sweep past its East Coast competition Saturday. Junior setter Lindsey Sherburne dished out 83 assists (13.88 per/game) during the sweep. Sophomore attacker Ryan Maspero registered a team-high 12 kills against North Carolina and totaled 24 on the day. Sophomore transfer Kristen Carlson put down 15 kills during USD's rout of Pittsburgh.

San Diego senior Kristen Hurst put up impressive all-around numbers Saturday. Hurst had 10 kills and 13 digs in the morning session against UNC. The 2003 WCC co-Defensive Player of the Year Jackie Bernardin led the Toreros with 15 digs in the night cap against Pittsburgh.

USD prepares for the 2004 University of San Diego Invitational next weekend. Along with the host Toreros, Nevada, Oregon State and Pennsylvania comprise the line-up for USD's upcoming tournament. San Diego's Friday night match with Nevada at 7pm will be its season opener.

Santa Clara - 3
Southwest Missouri State - 0

The 17th-ranked Santa Clara University volleyball team swept Southwest Missouri State to conclude action at the Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Challenge, hosted by the University of Hawaii at the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu. Freshman Anna Cmaylo and sophomore Kim McGiven 12 kills each to lead the Broncos in the 30-13, 30-20, 30-17 victory. Santa Clara is now 4-2 on the season, while the Bears fall to 5-3.

Cmaylo hit .562 (12-3-16) on the evening to lead Santa Clara's offence. The Broncos finished with a .336 hitting percentage, the best team performance this season. McGiven added a .423 clip, while sophomore Annalisa Muratore did not commit an error while posting nine kills and a .750 hitting percentage.

Cmaylo also performed defensively, recording seven blocks on the night. The team held the Bears to a .019 hitting percentage and a season-low six blocks.

Santa Clara remains on the road and will travel to Texas to take part in a tournament hosted by TCU in Fort Worth. The Broncos will open the TCU adidas Invitational against Appalachian State next Friday at 2:30 p.m. Pacific and will follow with two matches on Saturday: against Arkansas-Little Rock at 8:30 a.m. and the host Horned Frogs at 5 p.m.

Gonzaga - 3
Northern Colorado - 2

Oregon - 3
Gonzaga - 0

The Gonzaga University women's volleyball team improved to 3-5 on the season after the Bulldogs split two matches on Saturday to finish second at the Portland State Volleyball Showcase. In the first match of the afternoon Gonzaga held on for a five-game victory over the University of Northern Colorado winning the match 30-21, 30-27, 25-30, 25-30 and 15-12. UNC fell to 3-3 with the loss. In their second match of the day Gonzaga dropped the championship match against the University of Oregon falling in three games. Oregon improved to 7-0 on the season winning 30-19, 30-25 and 30-23.

In the morning match senior outside hitter Christina Davis powered the GU offense for the second straight match as she hammered home 26 kills on 62 attack attempts. Lacey Bell followed Davis' lead finishing with 13 kills on 29 attacks. Gonzaga finished the match with 64 kills hitting .203 for the match. Senior Lauren Armas was deadly on the serve for Gonzaga dropping in six service aces, the seventh highest single-match total in school history.

After hitting over .300 in both games one and two the Bulldogs had to hang on to win pull out the match winning in five games. Jessica Herrera led the team with 17 digs while Alecia Douglas had 15 digs and Bell added 11 digs. Northern Colorado was led by Erin Deffenbaugh with 15 kills and 12 digs while Maggie Ledall contributed 14 kills and six block assists.

In what turned out to be the championship match of the tournament the Oregon Ducks hit a blistering .361 as they picked up the 3-0 win over the Bulldogs. Davis was again the Bulldogs top attacker finishing with 11 kills on 35 attacks. Herrera added 12 digs and Bell 10 digs for the Bulldogs. Gonzaga finished the match hitting .196 as a team with 40 total kills.

Oregon was led by Lauren Westendorf with 17 kills and a .556 attack percentage. Westendorf also dropped in three of Oregon's 10 service aces while Katie O'Neil also had three. Oregon won the battle at the nets finishing with 16 blocks compared to 11 for Gonzaga. Karen Waddington was UO's top blocker with six block assists. Freshman Briawna Mueller was the Zags top blocker with four block assists.

Gonzaga returns to action on Tuesday night with a non-conference match at Washington State University. Following that match the Bulldogs will travel to the Idaho State Volleyball Classic.

Montana State - 3
Portland - 1

A four-game battle set the stage as the Pilots' win streak comes to an end. Portland lost to the Bobcats, 3-1 (28-30, 30-20, 30-21, 30-20) in the late match at the 10th annual Holiday Inn Classic. The Pilots now move to 4-3 on the season, while Montana State improves to 6-2 overall.

Junior setter Sheena Surplus turned heads, becoming a member of the 2004 all-tourney team. It was a very close tournament and in the end, winning percentage decided the title as Montana State took home the crown. Boise State came in second, while the Pilots finished third. Buffalo finished fourth, followed by Dartmouth in fifth place.

"I was very proud of the way the girls played in this tournament," said head coach Doug Sparks. "It was very close tonight and we are becoming a very good team. We've made a lot of progress this week and if we can continue to play solid volleyball, we're going to be a team to be reckoned with."

Portland took control of the first game right from the start as senior Michelle Oakland pounded her first kill of the night for a 1-0 Pilot lead. The game quickly became a nail biter as both teams matched point for point; there were 10 tied scores and three lead changes. Portland came out on top as Montana State gave up the two final points on errors.

Montana State manufactured 21 kills and a .444 hitting percentage with just five errors in 36 attempts in game two. Portland struggled to put down 13 kills, but maintained a marginal .275 hitting efficiency. Portland went on a 5-2 run mid-way through the game, bringing them to within five points, but was unable to close the gap as the Bobcats breezed by at 30-20.

Portland's lowest attacking percentages of the night came in games three and four. The Pilots' play after the break was flat and the offense just didn't kick in. Montana State on the other hand hit for .366 in game three and .419 in game four. Costly errors at the net and on the serve gave Montana State the advantage to take the last two games and the match.

The Bobcats doubled-up the Pilots in team blocks, 8-4 and hit for .351 as a team in the match. Portland managed a .195 hitting efficiency as just five players recorded kills all night.

Oakland led Portland with a season-best 16 kills and a .448 hitting percentage, along with three blocks. Sara Vercruyssen posted yet another double-double with 15 kills and 10 digs, while Kelly Whitehouse added 10 kills. Murphy McClenahan was stingy on defense, tallying a season-best 19 digs. Sheena Surplus posted 46 assists in the match.

Three Montana State players recorded double-figure kills in the match as Megan led all players with 18. Meggie Malyurek tallied 17 kills and 16 digs for the Bobcats, while Kim Stonehouse added 14 kills.

Stanford - 3
San Francisco - 0

San Francisco played their final match of the 2004 Stanford Invitational against the host #12 Cardinal and battled for a while but fell in three, 30-17, 30-13, 30-11. The Dons (3-6) played perennial national power Stanford (4-2) for the first time since 1998.

Senior outside hitter Stephanie Voelckers led the way for USF with eight kills and nine digs.

USF started strong against Stanford and took a 25-20 lead in the opening game, but were unable to seal the deal as the Cardinal stormed back with a 10-2 run for the opening set victory. Voelckers led the way for the Dons with five kills and seven digs.

Stanford continued to ride the momentum in games two and seizing control from the opening serve of game number two and did not trail the remainder of the match.

Voelckers earned all-tournament honors as the lone USF representative. The Hamburg, Germany native averaged 3.6 kills and 2.7 digs per game to lead the Dons in both categories on the weekend.

USF returns to action Thursday when they take on the Bulldogs of Fresno State in non-conference action in the opening game of the FSU Invitational. First serve is scheduled for 7:00 PM at the North Gym.