Sept. 24, 2005

Gonzaga - 3
Washington State - 1

PULLMAN, Wash. - In his four years leading the Gonzaga University volleyball program Bulldogs head coach Kip Yoshimura has always had a vision for where he wanted to take the program. On Saturday night his team took one giant step towards that vision as they ended a 16-match, 15 year losing skid to the Washington State Cougars (7-6). Gonzaga (8-7) went into hostile Bohler Gym and walked out with a 19-30, 30-27, 30-28, 30-24 win over WSU.

"This is one of those wins that can help make your season," said an excited Yoshimura after the Bulldogs won for only the third time in Pullman. The last two wins came in 1989 and 1990. "We have been working to improve with every match this season and tonight is a perfect example of that improvement. Last week WSU came to our gym and picked up a 3-1 win and tonight we were able to knock them off in their gym."

Gonzaga won a very balanced match with the Bulldogs hitting .262 for the match and WSU hitting .261. WSU had 71 kills to Gonzaga's 62 with only four more attack errors. Both teams dropped in seven service aces, Jessica Herrera had 3 for GU while Jen Barcus served 3 for WSU. Gonzaga was able to gain the advantage with their defensive play in the backcourt and at the net. The Bulldogs had 10 more digs and three more team blocks then WSU. Herrera led five Gonzaga players into double digit digs with 22 while Briawna Mueller and Kelly Steinhaus each had six block assists.

Freshman outside hitter Michelle Boevers was a force against WSU connecting for 24 kills and a .365 attack percentage. Boevers is just one example of the type of improvement GU is having with each additional match as last week against WSU she had 15 kills hitting only .149. Mueller also had a hot hitting hand adding 12 kills and a .458 attack percentage. Becky Jones rounded out the double digit hitting Zags with 12 kills. She also added 14 digs for her 9th double-double of the season.

"All of our front row players did an outstanding job on the attack tonight," Yoshimura added on his three top hitters. "Our players did a great job of adjusting to what WSU was doing defensively and I think that shows that we learned a lot from our match last week."

Washington State also had three effective attackers as Barcus, Natalia Owen and Zanda Butre all had 16 kills. Butre also added six block assists for the Cougars.

Gonzaga now prepares to open West Coast Conference play against the University of Portland next Saturday at Martin Centre. The match is set for a 1 p.m. start.

"I think this win gives us some great momentum heading into the WCC season," Yoshimura finished.

Pepperdine - 3
Canisius - 1

MALIBU, Calif. - Pepperdine recorded 73 kills and hit at a .367 clip as a team Saturday afternoon as the Waves improved to 3-0 at the Sheraton Invitational with a 3-1 (30-17, 28-30, 30-14, 30-16) victory over Canisius at The Palestra.

Leading the offensive onslaught was freshman Julie Rubenstein who finished the match with a team-high 18 kills, while hitting .438. Sophomore Lecca Roberts chipped in with 17 kills and hit .560 with a pair of service aces and four blocks to aid the Pepperdine (6-5) cause. Sophia Milo turned in her first double-double of the season with a 13-kill, 12-block effort, while Katy Daly added 12 kills.

Canisius (5-9) hit just .109 for the match and was blocked 18 times by the Waves. Aislinn Hayes finished with an 11-kill, 11-dig effort in the loss.

Morgan Ammons added 10 kills for the Golden Griffins who were held to .056 and .000 hitting in games three and four.

Pepperdine will end its stay in Philadelphia, Penn., this evening when it takes on St. Francis (NY) College at 4:30 p.m. (PT). The match will serve as a final tune-up before Pepperdine opens West Coast Conference play on Fri., Sept. 30, at home against San Diego.

Pepperdine - 3
St. Francis NY - 0

MALIBU, Calif. - The Pepperdine women's volleyball team picked up its fourth consecutive victory with a 3-0 (30-17, 30-10, 30-9) sweep over the St. Francis (NY) Terriers in the Sheraton Invitational in Philadelphia, Penn. The win clinched the tournament title, Pepperdine's second of the season.

Pepperdine (7-5) head coach Nina Matthies used the final match of the weekend to get a majority of her reserves some game-time experience as the Waves easily handled the 0-16 Terriers. Julie Rubenstein led all players with 17 kills, hitting .652 for the match as the only Wave to reach double-digits in kills. Meghan Scheenstra logged seven kills with 14 digs, while Caitlin Lawson and Cassi Chamberlain each finished the night with nine kills. Chevon Crum set the entire match, racking up 40 assists and three service aces.

Rubenstein was named tournament Most Valuable Player and was joined by Lecca Roberts, Christina Grempler (Towson), Linda Zhang (Penn), Mary Boller (Canisius) and Alison Essink (Towson) on the all-tournament team.

As a team, Pepperdine hit .447 for the match with 10 service aces.

The 36 total points by St. Francis is the second fewest points allowed by the Waves in the rally-scoring era to the 32 scored by Loyola College during the 2002 season. The nine points allowed in game three was the third-lowest total against Pepperdine in the rally-scoring era, bettered by only Portland's six at Portland in 2004 and Loyola Chicago's four.

The Waves will return home to open West Coast Conference (WCC) play on Fri., Sept. 30, at 7 p.m. (PT) at Firestone Fieldhouse. The Toreros bring a 14-match WCC win streak to Malibu after posting a 14-0 league record in 2004, including a 3-2 (27-30, 32-30, 28-30, 30-22, 15-10) victory over Pepperdine in the Waves' season finale. Sunday's match against Santa Clara is slated for 3 p.m. and will be aired on CSTV as the Sunday Night Spikes Match of the Week.

Santa Clara - 3
Stony Brook - 0

Providence, R.I. - Family can be an inspiring and motivating factor to play well. Just ask sophomore Anna Cmaylo. The Santa Clara middle blocker led her team to a three-game victory over Stony Brook this morning in front of family who had never seen her compete before. One of the reasons head coach Jon Wallace scheduled his team to compete in the Brown Invitational was so that Cmaylo's family could finally see her play. And she didn't disappoint, putting down 11 kills at a .400 clip to lead the No. 18 Broncos to a 30-10, 30-24, and 30-27 victory.

Santa Clara jumped out to an early 17-6 lead in the opening frame, after setter Crystal Matich got several of her teammates involved on offense. Freshman Brittany Lowe served six consecutive points during that run to easily distance the Broncos from the Seawolves. Five straight SCU kills, two of them by middle blocker Megan Pura, followed by a Stony Brook attacking error closed out the first game 30-10.

The second game was a little bit more competitive, as neither team was able to gain much of an edge in the opening stages. After a Stony Brook kill tied the game up at 8-8, Santa Clara went on a 13-2 run to comfortably take control of the match. However, the Seawolves would not back down, as they mounted a mini-comeback of their own. Stony Brook pulled to within four points at 28-24 after a Nichole Clark hitting error, but a kill by Rachel Greenburg and a Seawolve hitting error closed out Game Two for the Broncos, 30-24.

As it was in Game Two, the third frame saw both teams compete on an even level, with Santa Clara maintaining a slim two-point advantage in the opening plays. The Broncos built a 5-point edge at 20-15 after a Jessika Horlemann kill. Stony Brook would close the gap to two points at 29-27, but a kill by Cmaylo closed out the game and the match for Santa Clara.

Aside from Cmaylo, the Broncos got offensive contributions from senior opposite Cassie Perret and freshman outside hitter Jessika Horlemann, as both pitched in eight kills. Freshman Michelle Luxton tallied seven digs to lead all players in the back row, while Taylor O'Brien, Clark, and Horlemann added a team high two blocks. Cmaylo was named the Tournament MVP and Lowe and Perret were added to the all-tournament team.

With this victory, Santa Clara is riding on a three-match win streak and improves its overall record to 10-1 on the season. The Broncos return to action Tuesday night against San Jose State in the first of many matches of the Rivalry Series. The two schools will compete head-to-head in a variety of sports to claim school bragging rights and volleyball will be the first athletic contest to be determined. Game time will be at 7 p.m. and the match will be held at the Leavey Center. Tickets are available by calling (408) 554-4660 or by going to www.santaclarabroncos.com.

Hawaii - 3
Loyola Marymount - 0

Honolulu, Hawaii - Loyola Marymount volleyball will return to Los Angeles with a 1-1 split with ninth-ranked Hawaii (7-6), after falling to the Rainbow Wahine 3-0 (30-17, 31-29, 30- Saturday night in front of nearly 7,500 fans at the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu. Despite Dina DeBernardi's nine kill, six block performance, the Lions' (11-2) had their lowest team hitting percentage of the season Saturday, after winning Friday's 3-2 battle.

LMU's 11-2 start to the 2005 season equals the program's best start, as both the 1996 and 2003 squads also began with 11-2 records. The 1996 team went on to a perfect 14-0 West Coast Conference season and an NCAA Sweet Sixteen appearance, while the 2003 squad advanced to the NCAA's second round.

The Lions held an early four point lead at 6-2 in the first game, but Hawaii rallied for seven straight points to pull away. UH's Alicia Arnott had six game one kills, and the Rainbow Wahine held the Lions to hit just .067 for the 30-17 win.

Led by DeBernardi's strong blocking early, the Lions built an eight-point lead as late as 25-17 in game two. But the resilient Rainbow Wahine battled back to win game two 31-29.

The Lions, who trailed all of game three, rallied for five straight points late to force a UH timeout at 28-25. But the Rainbow Wahine returned to hold on for the 30-25 win to secure the match.

In addition to DeBernardi's effort, Heather Hughes had a team-high 10 kills. Sophomore Christianna Reneau added 14 digs, after her career-high 28 dig mark on Friday. Despite their efforts, the Lions hit just .039 as a team, the lowest mark this season.

Though they return to the friendlier confines of Gersten Pavilion, the Lions' schedule will not become any less challenging. LMU continues its run of five straight matches against top-25 opponents with the start of WCC play on Friday, September 30. The No. 18 Santa Clara Broncos will be the first WCC match-up for the Lions, followed by the fourteenth-ranked San Diego Toreros.

Both matches are slated for 7:00 p.m. starts and will be broadcast live on Lions' All-Access at www.LMULions.com. Lions' All-Access webcasting is scheduled to begin with WCC play on Friday, and fans can view and listen to the action as it happens.

Long Beach State - 3
Saint Mary's - 1

Long Beach, CA - The Saint Mary's volleyball team jumped in front of Long Beach State in a hostile gym in all four games, but only managed to put the 49ers away in one, leading to a tough 3-1 loss on Saturday night.

Saint Mary's was playing Long Beach State in The Gold Mine, a small loud gym that the 49ers were playing in for the first time since 1994. With the loss the Gaels fall to 9-3, while Long Beach State improved to 10-3. Saint Mary's will begin West Coast Conference play on October 1 against San Francisco at 7 p.m. at War Memorial Gymnasium.

The Gaels were led by Cassandra Kolkka, Kaui Salzman and Missie Stidham, who all had 17 kills each. Kolkka hit .571 and added two aces for the match. Salzman added 12 digs and seven blocks and Stidham added seven digs.

Mandy Bible recorded 60 assists and added eight blocks and two kills. Christina Kirk had nine kills, seven blocks and three aces.

The Gaels reached 21 points first in all four matches, but allowed the 49ers to battle back and win three out of the four.

In the first game the Gaels took a 16-14 lead after both teams rallied for the first half of the game, leading to a Long Beach State timeout. Saint Mary's continued to lead, taking a 23-20 lead after a Stidham kill, forcing the 49ers to take their final timeout. Long Beach State rallied back to take a 27-25 lead, forcing the Gaels to take their first timeout. Long Beach State went won three of the last four points to win the game 30-26. The Gaels were led by Stidham, who had six kills and two digs. Salzman had five kills, Kolkka had four kills and Bible had 17 assists.

To start the second game the Gaels jumped in front 6-4 early in the game, leading to Long Beach State's first timeout. Saint Mary's continued to lead late, until Long Beach State scored three straight points to take a 26-25 lead, forcing the Gaels to take their first timeout. The 49ers went on to win four out of the next six points to win the game 30-27. Salzman led the Gaels in the second game, recording four kills. Kolkka and Kirk added two kills and Bible had 10 assists.

In Game 3, the Gaels jumped in front 17-13, after four consecutive points while Kolkka was at the service line, including two aces, forcing the 49ers to call their first timeout. Saint Mary's continued to lead 20-15, but the 49ers rallied back for the third consecutive game to tie the score at 24-24. The Gaels won the next two points to take a 26-24 lead, forcing the 49ers to take their final timeout. Saint Mary's used a solo block by Kolkka to finish off the third game, beating the 49ers 30-27. The Gaels were led by Salzman, who had five kills. Stidham and Kolkka added four kills in the game and Bible had 13 assists.

In Game 4, the Gaels once again took an early lead thanks to the serving of Kirk, jumping out to a 17-13 lead. Saint Mary's continued to lead 23-18, forcing the 49ers to take their first timeout. The 49ers once again rallied to cut the lead to 26-25, before the Gaels scored the next point on a kill by Kolkka, forcing Long Beach State to take its final timeout. The Gaels continued to lead 29-28, but the 49ers scored the next two points, forcing the Gaels to call its first timeout. Long Beach State went on to win the game on a tough final point, winning the game 31-29.

Saint Mary's begins West Coast Conference action on Saturday, October 1 when it travels to San Francisco to take on the Dons at 7 p.m.