Sept. 23, 2005

Pepperdine - 3
Towson - 0

MALIBU, Calif. - Pepperdine got five blocks each from Melissa Mehlhorn and Lecca Roberts Friday in the opening match of the Sheraton Invitational in Philadelphia, Penn., en route to a three-game sweep, 30-25, 30-15, 30-24, over the Towson Tigers at The Palestra.

Freshman Julie Rubenstein led the Waves (4-5) with 12 kills on 30 swings and chipped in six digs and four blocks, including two solo as Pepperdine snapped a two-match skid. Roberts hit .304 in the match with 11 kills, while Katy Daly and Breegan Mulligan added seven kills apiece. As a team, Pepperdine hit .263 for the match and recorded 12 total blocks, limiting Towson (13-2) to just .042 hitting.

The Tigers, who had won their last 12 matches coming in, received 12 kills from Ally Perko and seven from both Vanessa Happel and Christina Grempler. Despite outdigging the Waves by a 52-48 margin, Towson was unable to solve the Pepperdine defense committing 31 errors with just 36 kills.

Pepperdine will return to action at 4:30 (PT) to take on the host team Penn in match three of the tournament.

Pepperdine - 3
Penn - 0

MALIBU, Calif. - Pepperdine got back to .500 on the season with a convincing sweep, 30-16, 30-27, 30-18, over Penn in the Waves' second match at the Sheraton Invitational in Philadelphia, Penn., Friday night. The victory moved Pepperdine to 2-0 in the tournament which concludes Saturday night at The Palestra.

The Waves' (5-5) received 17 kills from freshman Julie Rubenstein who hit a career-high .429 on the night. Junior middle blocker Sophia Milo turned in a 14-kill, two-error performance as she turned in a season-best hitting percentage of .545. Kekai Crabbe turned in a match-best 20-dig effort, while setter Melissa Mehlhorn notched her fifth double-double of the season with 34 assists and 18 digs.

No Penn (2-6) player had a double-digit kill or dig total as Michelle Kauffman turned in a team-leading nine kill effort and Laura Black finished the night with nine digs. As a team, the Quakers hit .109 to Pepperdine's .306 and were outdug by a 70-48 margin.

The Waves will look to make it a perfect weekend tomorrow when it returns to action against St. Francis and Canisius at noon and 4:30 (PT), respectively.

Saint Mary's - 3
UC Irvine - 0

Irvine, CA - The No. 21 ranked Saint Mary's volleyball team beat UC Irvine 3-0 on Friday night in Irvine, CA. The Gaels swept the Anteaters by a final score of 31-29, 30-26, 30-27. With the win the Gaels improve to 9-2 on the season, while the Anteaters fell to 5-7.

Saint Mary's was led by Kaui Salzman, who recorded a match-high 18 kills with a .361 hitting percentage. Salzman also added 12 digs and one ace on the night. Cassandra Kolkka had 13 kills with a .524 hitting percentage, six digs and two aces, Missie Stidham had nine kills, five digs and two aces and Mandy Bible had 41 assists and six digs. Christina Kirk had six kills, two aces and four blocks and Lyndsey Parker had 14 digs.

The Gaels return to action Saturday, September 24, when they face Long Beach State at the Gold Mine on the Long Beach State campus.

In the first game the Gaels jumped out to an early 14-8 lead, before the Anteaters called their first timeout. UC Irvine rallied to tie the score 22-22, before the Gaels took a 23-22 lead. Both teams played back-and-forth to a 28-28 tie, until the Anteaters took a 29-28 lead, forcing the Gaels to call their first timeout. Saint Mary's scored the next two points on kills by Stidham and Salzman to take a 30-29 lead, forcing UC Irvine to take its final timeout. Saint Mary's won the final point of the game on a block by Kirk, leading to the 31-29 victory. The Gaels were led by Salzman, who had seven kills and seven digs. Kolkka added five kills and two digs and Parker had five digs.

In Game 2, the Gaels and Anteaters rallied for the first 12 points, until Saint Mary's jumped in front 15-12. Both teams played evenly until the Gaels won two consecutive points, taking a 26-23 lead, forcing UC Irvine to take its first timeout. The Gaels scored four out of the final seven points to win the second game 30-26. Saint Mary's was once again led by Salzman in the game, who recorded six kills and added four digs, giving her a double-double after two games. Kolkka, Kirk and Stidham each added three kills in the game.

In the third game the Gaels jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. Saint Mary's led 23-17, before taking its first timeout after UC Irvine scored three quick points. The Gaels continued to lead 29-25, before UC Irvine scored two points, forcing the Gaels to take their final timeout. Saint Mary's set Salzman out of the timeout and with the kill the Gaels won the game 30-27.

Santa Clara - 3
Manhattan - 0

Providence, R.I. - Manhattan College had no answer for Brittany Lowe this morning in the first match of the Brown Invitational. The Santa Clara freshman lead her team to a three-game sweep over the Jaspers, hammering down 19 kills at a .531 hitting percentage. Both are career highs for the first-year outside hitter out of Yorba Linda, Calif. A starter since the beginning of the season, Lowe proved to be unstoppable against the Jaspers, leading SCU to an easy 30-17, 30-20, and 30-16 victory over its East Coast foe.

"We are playing pretty well right now," said head coach Jon Wallace. "Brittany Lowe really stepped it up for us today and I'm excited about how the team is coming together, especially since we start our West Coast Conference matches next week."

In the first game, Santa Clara got off to a 6-2 lead after junior outside hitter Kim McGiven served four straight points. Manhattan would come back on a mini-run of its own to tie the match at 6-6 after sophomore middle blocker Anna Cmaylo made a hitting error. The Jaspers would continue to pester the Broncos, staying within striking distance for much of the opening frame. Holding a slim 12-10 advantage, SCU kicked its play up a notch and outscored Manhattan 11-3, cruising the rest of the opening frame and winning 30-17 after a Cmaylo kill.

SCU built an early 6-1 lead to begin the second game. Two kills by senior opposite Cassie Perret spurred on her team's attack. Santa Clara was able to maintain a healthy five-point edge for the majority of the game, as the Jaspers were unable to string together a series of points to seriously contend with the Broncos. After a Manhattan College service error, Santa Clara took Game 2 by a score of 30-20.

After the 10-minute intermission, the Jaspers played with determination and heart, bolting to an early 4-2 lead. However, the stronger and quicker Broncos were able to eradicate their deficit in a matter of rotations, quickly reclaiming a 6-5 lead after Lowe put away a ball. Santa Clara would never trail again in the match, building an edge as large as 21-8. Another kill by Lowe claimed the 30-16 third game victory for her team.

For the match, Cmaylo pitched in nine kills and five blocks, while McGiven, Perret, and freshman outside hitter Nichole Clark all notched eight kills in an evenly distributed offense. Setters Crystal Matich and Kristen Luxton combined for 47 assists and set the team to an impressive .465 hitting percentage.

Santa Clara returns to action this afternoon in their second match of the Brown Invitational, taking on host Brown at 4 p.m. PT.

Santa Clara - 3
Brown - 0

Providence, R.I. - In front of a loud home crowd cheering them on, the Brown Bears still did not have enough manpower to stop the Santa Clara women's volleyball team. The Broncos (9-1), ranked No. 18 in the latest CSTV/AVCA Top-25 Poll, won the match in three games, 30-25, 30-20, and 30-28. SCU was once again lead by freshman outside hitter Brittany Lowe, who put away 13 balls in the winning cause, just hours after totaling a career high 19 kills in a morning match against Manhattan College. She also added a team-high seven digs and three aces to go along with her great offensive production.

Other Broncos who contributed to the victory include junior outside hitter Kim McGiven and sophomore setter Crystal Matich. McGiven tallied eight kills on a very efficient .438 hitting percentage and Matich passed out 35 assists in the win. Senior opposite Cassie Perret chipped in eight kills and three digs. Middle blockers Anna Cmaylo and Megan Pura had a team-high three blocks in Santa Clara's second match of the Brown Invitational.

Santa Clara's East Coast swing will wrap up tomorrow morning, when they face Stony Brook at 7 a.m. in its final match of the Brown Invitational.