Sept. 16, 2005

LMU - 3
SMU - 2

Fullerton, Calif. - Loyola Marymount rallied to win two straight games at the end of a two hour, 15 minute thriller to earn the 3-2 (30-24, 26-30, 22-30, 30-19, 15-11) win over Southern Methodist University (5-6) Friday afternoon at the Hawthorne Suites Cal State Fullerton Invitational. Senior Dina DeBernardi made history in the LMU win, becoming the first Lion to reach 1,000 career kills and 300 career total blocks.

The win improved the Lions to 7-1 and 3-0 on a neutral court this season. LMU will continue tournament play tomorrow, taking on San Jose State at 3:00 p.m. and the host Titans at 7:30 p.m.

DeBernardi's 16 kills placed her exactly at the 1,000 career mark and made her the eighth Lion to reach the milestone. She had passed the 300 total block mark last week.

LMU trailed the Mustangs for the entire first half of game one. It took a six-point streak behind the serving of freshman Katie Glomb to tie SMU and take the lead at 18-15. Five straight points late in the game gave the Lions game point, and senior Dina DeBernardi secured the 30-24 game win with one of her five kills in game one. LMU hit .439 in game one, led by DeBernardi's .714 percentage.

In a reversal of game one, the Lions held the lead to begin the second game, taking a four point lead twice including at 12-8. But the Mustangs battled back to tie the game at 17 on a service ace by Whitney Salcer. Both teams hit an even .200, but SMU held on to the late-game momentum to take game two 30-26.

The Mustangs had their largest advantage in the third game, despite hitting just .176 as a team. SMU's Caitlin Rainbird's six kills led them to the30-22 game three win.

But the Lions turned it on in game four, beginning early when Heather Hughes and Michelle Look hustled into the stands to extend a point that the Lions later won. Hughes also closed the game, with her fourth kill of the game at 30-19.

LMU brought that momentum into the short fifth game, hitting .350 with K.C. Walsh at the helm of the offense. In addition to her setting, Walsh had three key kills of her own in the deciding fifth game that the Lions won 15-11.

Hughes and Walsh finished with double-doubles, with Hughes tallying 20 kills and 16 digs and Walsh adding 50 assists and 10 digs. The freshman setter was two kills short of LMU's first triple-double this season.

Saint Mary's - 3
UCSB - 1

Stanford, CA - Missie Stidham led the way for the Gaels, recording a career-high 20 kills in the Gaels' 3-1 victory over No. 24 UC Santa Barbara on Friday night in their second match of the Stanford Invitational. Stidham added 10 kills, two aces and hit .255 for the match as No. 23 Saint Mary's improved to 7-2 on the season.

Saint Mary's dropped Game 1 to the Gauchos, but turned on the defense the rest of the way, recording 26 total blocks compared to Santa Barbara's seven. The Gaels also held the Gauchos to a .149 hitting percentage.

Behind Stidham's 20 kills, Kaui Salzman recorded 16 kills with a .306 hitting percentage and added 10 digs and Cassandra Kolkka added a double-double with 11 kills and 10 digs. Christina Kirk matched a career-high with 11 kills and added five blocks and Brittany Barker had five kills and nine blocks. Mandy Bible set the pace with 52 assists and added 11 digs for her fourth double-double of the season.

As a team the Gaels hit .320 and recorded 65 kills, 57 digs and 10 aces. Freshman Lyndsey Parker had 11 digs and Taylor Groess had one ace and two digs off the bench.

The Gaels will wrap up the Stanford Invitational against Utah State at 7 p.m. on Saturday night at Maples Pavilion.

In Game 1, the Gaels fell behind 11-4 to open the game before taking their first timeout. The Gaels battled back to cut the lead to 16-13, forcing UC Santa Barbara to take its first timeout. Saint Mary's took its second lead of the game 25-24, but the Gauchos scored three straight points, forcing the Gaels to take their final timeout. UC Santa Barbara went on to win the first game 30-28. Saint Mary's was led by Salzman in the opening game, who had six kills. Stidham had four kills and four digs and Kirk and Kolkka had three kills each. The Gaels hit .233 as a team and the Gauchos hit .171.

In the second game, both teams rallied back-and-forth playing to a 14-14 tie. The Gaels scored the next three points, taking a 17-14 lead before UC Santa Barbara called its first timeout. The Gaels continued their strong play, taking a 28-20 lead before the Gauchos called their final timeout. Saint Mary's went on to win the second game 30-20. The Gaels were led by Stidham and Barker in the second game. Stidham recorded five kills and Barker dominated the net, recording six blocks. Saint Mary's held the Gauchos to a .056 hitting percentage and the Gaels hit .379 in the game.

In Game 3, both teams played evenly to a 13-13 tie, before the Gaels took a 17-14 lead and the Gauchos took their first timeout. Saint Mary's continued to lead, taking a 22-17 advantage, before UC Santa Barbara took its final timeout. The Gaels continued to lead 28-23, before the Gauchos scored two points and Saint Mary's took its first timeout. The Gaels went on to win the third game 30-27. Saint Mary's was led by Stidham, who had six kills and four digs and Bible had 14 assists and two kills. Salzman, Kolkka and Kirk each had three kills in the game.

In the fourth game, the Gaels jumped out to an early 10-4 lead, but the Gauchos rallied back to tie the game 12-12 before the Gaels called their first timeout. Saint Mary's gained momentum out of the timeout and carried a 25-19 lead before the Gauchos broke the Gaels' run with two straight points. The Gaels went on to win the game 30-22.

San Diego - 3
Arkansas - 1

SAN DIEGO, CA - Kristen Carlson had a career-high 34 kills to lead host San Diego past Arkansas Friday night at USD's Jenny Craig Pavilion. Ranked 18th nationally by the AVCA, San Diego (8-1) has opened its home schedule and the 2005 USD Invitational Tournament with consecutive victories. Game scores went 30-26, 26-30, 30-28 and 30-27. Arkansas (7-3), the 2004 SEC West Division Champions, had convincingly defeated UNLV earlier in the day.

Carlson, a junior from Purcellville, Virginia, hit .529 on the night, to reach the 30-kill plateau for the first time in her USD career. Receiving 60 assists from All-American setter Lindsey Sherburne, Carlson and the Toreros responded to a second game loss to the Lady `Backs by winning clutch points put down the stretch to take game's three and four.

In front of a raucous 891 in attendance at the Jenny Craig Pavilion, Carlson slammed down match-point, to deny an Arkansas squad that used a late rally to threaten in Game Four.

Junior attacker Denitza Koleva had a team-high 18 kills for the Lady `Backs. Arkansas used the setting combination of Nicole Martin and Iva Docekalova to try and counter a stingy Torero defense anchored by two-time WCC Defender of the Year Jackie Bernardin.

The 2005 University of San Diego Invitational continues on Saturday.

Santa Clara - 3
Idaho - 0

Salt Lake City, Utah - The 17th-ranked Santa Clara women's volleyball team set a new school record for consecutive victories to begin a season tonight after soundly defeating Idaho 3-0 tonight in the first match of the Hampton Inn Utah Classic, hosted by the University of Utah. Game scores were 30-21, 30-19, and 30-21. Despite the 7-0 start to 2005, head coach Jon Wallace will not allow his team to rest on their laurels.

"It's something as a coach, I could care less about," said Wallace about his team's quick start. "The fact that we win is what I care about. I think that we are starting off so strongly is a serious indication of how dedicated the group is this season."

The match began heavily in Santa Clara's favor, as they bolted out to a 4-1 lead. The Vandals were able to close the gap to 8-7 on a kill by Kati Tikker, but that would be the closest that they would get, as the Broncos proved to be too strong for them to handle. Kills by several different SCU players, along with several attacking errors by Idaho, allowed Santa Clara to pull ahead to an 18-10 margin. Freshman Brittany Lowe thundered home a kill to give Santa Clara the 30-21 first game victory.

The Broncos continued to dominate the match in the second frame, as they rushed out to a 5-0 lead. Santa Clara would end up cruising the rest of the game, as Idaho continued to plague itself with multiple hitting errors. An attack error by Tikker ended the game in SCU's favor, 30-19.

After intermission, the Vandals pushed the Broncos to open up the third game. Kristen Luxton's service error tied the match at 4-all, but after that, it was all Santa Clara. SCU pulled out to an 11-6 lead, thanks to a string of Idaho errors. The lead ballooned to 20-10 after the Broncos continued to apply the defensive pressure, rattling the Vandals into making several more hitting errors. The match ended after Idaho made another hitting error.

Junior outside hitter Kim McGiven lead her team with 11 kills on the night, while sophomore middle blocker Anna Cmaylo spearheaded the defensive effort with 8 blocks. Wallace also points to a trio of passers as a stable and calming force for his team.

"I thought our passing was good. Brittany, Caroline, and Cassie were rocks for us in the back tonight," said Wallace.

"Brittany played well and she hit for a high percentage," adds Wallace. "She had a good outing."

The Broncos returns to action tomorrow night when they takes on host Utah at 6 p.m. to finish off the Hampton Inn Utah Classic.

Baylor - 3
Gonzaga - 1

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. - The opening day of the Fiesta Bowl Tournament was no party for the Gonzaga University volleyball team as the Bulldogs fell to a larger Baylor University squad in four games. The Bears (8-2) dominated play at the net with 22 more kills and 11 more blocks during the 30-19, 28-30 30-23, 30-19 win. Gonzaga fell to 6-6 on the year and will face host Northern Arizona University Saturday morning before concluding tournament play against the University of Texas El Paso.

Baylor used their size to their advantage as they combined for a .323 hitting percentage with four players finishing play in double digit kills. Nicole LeBlanc was the biggest weapon with 19 kills with a .333 hitting percentage and a team-high 18 digs. Stealla Odion also had a big night with 17 kills and a match-best .519 attack clip.

Gonzaga's Briawna Mueller tried to keep pace for the Bulldogs in the middle as the sophomore continued to be Gonzaga most efficient attacker. Mueller finished with 15 kills and .312 attack percentage to remain one of only two Gonzaga players above .300 for the season. Mueller was also able to counter at the net with a team-high 4 block assists. Gonzaga would finish with 11 team blocks compared to 20 for Baylor. Amanda Modglin and Kelly Spriggs were the Bears top blockers with each picking up 6 block assists.

Sophomore outside hitter Becky Jones finished second on the Bulldogs team with 13 kills and 13 digs. The double-double was the fifth straight for Jones who continues to lead GU in kills per game at 4.2. Setter Heather Dunn passed out 41 assists with a majority coming in game two as the Bulldogs hit .400 for that game with 20 kills. Gonzaga would not hit higher than .079 in any of the other three games.

Emily Huston paced Baylor's offense with 55 assists and a match-high 4 aces. Alecia Douglas was the Zags top server with 2 aces. Douglas now has a team-high 18 aces for the year and has picked up at least one ace in 10 of the Bulldogs 12 matches. Libero Jessica Herrera added 14 digs.

USC - 3
Pepperdine - 0

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Pepperdine had several chances Friday night at the Lyon Center, but could not come up with the key play at the key time in falling 30-24, 30-25, 30-26 to No. 12 USC in Los Angeles. The Waves hit just .086 for the match and fell to 3-4 on the year.

Pepperdine got out to a 2-0 start but USC would answer with a kill and a Wave attack error. The two teams would trade sideouts until a Pepperdine blocking error and a service ace by Nena Siljegovic gave the Women of Troy a two-point edge, 7-5. USC would score four of the next five points and led 11-6 when Nina Matthies burned her first timeout of the game. Trailing by a 17-11 count, Pepperdine went on a 3-0 run capped off by a block from Julie Rubenstein and Lecca Roberts. USC would build its lead back to seven, 21-14, when Pepperdine called for its second timeout. A 6-2 Wave's run pulled the game to a 24-20 Trojan lead, but that would be as close as the Waves would get as USC took a 1-0 lead in the match. Pepperdine was limited to .000 hitting in the game, while USC hit at a .222 clip and out blocked the Waves, 5.0-3.0.

Junior Sophia Milo paced the Pepperdine offense with 13 kills and tacked on six total blocks to move into ninth all-time in both block assists and total blocks. Roberts chipped in with 10 kills on the night, while true freshman Cassi Chamberlain was the team's most efficient hitter, hitting at a .308 clip. Melissa Mehlhorn turned in her fourth double-double of the season with 35 assists and 10 digs and Breegan Mulligan led Pepperdine with 16 digs from the libero position.

Game two was a stalemate for the first 12 points. With the score knotted at 6-6, USC took advantage of several Pepperdine miscues and took a 10-6 lead. The lead would reach seven, 14-7, when Pepperdine seemed to find itself and turn the miscue-table on USC. Caitlin Lawson subbed into the game for Katy Daly and served the Waves to an 8-0 run, giving Pepperdine a 15-14 lead. During the Pepperdine run, Rubenstein recorded her first kill of the night and Sophia Milo was part of three blocks. Pepperdine would take a two-point lead at 20-18 after a block and a Trojan's attack error. But the lead would be short lived as USC went on a 4-1 run and regained the lead at 22-21. Pepperdine would score just four more points in the game as USC went on to a two-games-to-none lead at the intermission.

Bibiana Candelas led all players with 23 kills on .465 hitting and Staci Venski tacked on 11.

The Waves got behind early in game three, 10-6.Out of a Pepperdine timeout, the Waves started to find a rhythm and went on a 6-1 run to take a 12-11 lead in the game. Pepperdine continued to lead until with the score knotted at 22-all, USC went on a 5-0 run to take a 27-22 lead and held on for the three-game sweep.

Pepperdine will return to Firestone Fieldhouse for the first time in 17 days when it hosts No. 25 Long Beach State at 7 p.m. The match will be the first of five on the week as the Waves travel to Philadelphia, Penn., for the Sheraton Invitational, Sept. 23-24.

Denver - 3
Portland - 0

Denver, CO - The University of Portland's women's volleyball team lost 3-0 (30-17, 30-17, 31-29) to the Denver Pioneers on Friday night in the first match of the Denver Invitational. The Pilots' record falls to 2-8, while Denver improves to 4-5.

Denver took the first two games of the match easily, winning 30-17 in both games. The Pilots recovered and hit .325 in the third game, but lost 31-29 after holding a 28-26 lead late in the game.

Sophomore Nicole Thometz recorded her fourth consecutive double-double for the Pilots, posting 11 digs and a match-high 12 kills. Jennifer Sheedy broke into double figures in kills for the third straight match, converting 10 of 23 attacks. Monique Kettler had three solo blocks for the Pilots, an individual season high for the Pilots.

Three Pioneers broke into double figures in kills. Lisa Hunter tied Thometz with 12 kills, while Kim Muller and Holly Benson each had 10. Ashly Ball had a match-high 13 digs for Denver. The Pioneers outhit the Pilots .380 to .200 for the match.

Senior Sheena Surplus had 29 assists, inching closer to second place in Portland history. She now needs just 35 more to pass Kelly Parnell (1988-91) on the career charts.

The Pilots continue play at the Denver Invitational on Saturday with two matches. Portland takes on Northern Illinois (7-5) at 12:00 p.m. and Montana (9-3) at 4:00 p.m.