Oct. 3, 2004

Saint Mary's - 3
Pepperdine - 1

The Saint Mary's volleyball team snapped Pepperdine's 43-match West Coast Conference winning streak on Saturday night when the Gaels beat the Waves 3-1 at McKeon Pavilion. The Gaels improved to 2-0 in WCC play and 13-1 on the season. The victory on Saturday night marks the first time the Gaels beat Pepperdine since the 1994 season.

"It was a pretty amazing week," head coach Jon Stevenson said. "We just snapped one of the great streaks in college volleyball."

Pepperdine had won three consecutive conference titles by going 14-0 in each of the three seasons. Saint Mary's was coming off victories over No. 11 Stanford on Tuesday night and Loyola Marymount on Friday night.

"I couldn't be any more proud of our program," Stevenson said. The Gaels took an early one-game lead after beating the Waves 30-27 to open the match. Pepperdine bounced back to take Game 2 28-30, before the Gaels won the final two games 30-17, 30-16 after the break.

Saint Mary's was led by junior outside hitter Kaui Salzman, who had a match-high 18 kills to go along with 14 digs and one ace. Senior Lindsey Bogason had another solid game as she added 17 kills, three aces and eight digs. Sophomore Cassandra Kolkka had 10 kills in two games, before switching to libero and freshman Missie Stidham had eight kills in two games after switching to outside hitter. Kolkka also added a match-high 25 digs and Stidham had 20 digs.

Pepperdine (3-8, 1-1 WCC) was led by Sophia Milo's 14 kills, while Kristin McClune and Katy Daly each chipped in double-digit kill performances with 11 and 10, respectively. Four Waves notched double-figure dig nights highlighted by KeKai Cabbe and Christina Hinds' 16.

The Gaels also had solid contributions by senior middle blocker Stacey O'Connor, who had a match-high nine blocks to go along with nine kills. Mariko Coverdale added seven kills and four blocks up front and sophomore setter Mandy Bible led the way with a match-high 59 assists, five kills and 12 digs.

As a team the Gaels hit .417 in Game 4 and .333 in Game 3, compared to Pepperdine's -.079 and .049 hitting percentage in Game 4 and Game 3, respectively. With the loss the Waves fall to 3-8 on the season and 1-1 in West Coast Conference play.

Saint Mary's also recorded 42.5 blocks, 81 digs and 74 kills. Pepperdine had 34.5 blocks, 69 digs and 52 kills.

LMU - 3
San Francisco - 1

Loyola Marymount volleyball earned its first West Coast Conference victory of 2004 Saturday night, as the Lions (9-5, 1-1 WCC) defeated the University of San Francisco (7-11, 0-2 WCC) 3-1 in War Memorial Gym (30-28, 21-30, 30-23, 30-21). LMU's 39 block assists set a new all-time program record for team block assists in a four-game match, passing the previous 18-year record of 35 set in 1986.

The victory marked LMU's sixth straight win over San Francisco dating back to 2001. Freshman Keri Anglin (11 kills, 12 digs) and senior Nicole Oehlman (44 assists, 14 digs) each put up double-double performances, with Anglin recording career-highs in both kills and digs.

Senior Dina DeBernardi chipped in 14 kills and a career-high nine blocks. Senior Kelli Nerison also added nine block assists, helping the Lions to their record-setting 39 team block assists. The 39 block assists in a four-game match knocked out the previous 35 block assist record set by the 1986 squad against Northern Arizona University. Overall, the Lions out-blocked USF Saturday evening 20.5 to 9.0.

LMU trailed 10-16 in game one, but rallied back with four unanswered points for force a USF timeout at 16-18. The Lions tied the game at 22 on a kill by freshman Heather Hughes and took the lead when Hughes and DeBernardi teamed up for a block. LMU broke a 28-28 tie to earn game point, and won the first game 30-28, hitting .316 as a team.

The Dons built a 9-15 lead in the second game with a 5-0 run, before LMU answered back when DeBernardi put up back-to-back blocks to bring the Lions within two at 16-14. But USF took the 21-30 game two win, as LMU dropped off to a .024 hitting percentage.

The Lions owned game three, building a 22-13 lead. This time, LMU held the Dons to a .058 attack percentage and earned game point on a kill by DeBernardi. The Lions won the third game 30-23.

LMU earned a 17-10 advantage after scoring six unanswered points thanks in part to kills by Anglin and DeBernardi. USF pulled back within four, but kills by Oehlman and DeBernardi kept the Lions up by seven and forced USF to take a timeout. Krista Houseman secured the 30-21 game four and match win for the Lions with her eighth kill of the evening. The Lions once again held USF to a chilly .024 attack percentage.

Senior outside hitter Stephanie Voelckers turned in a 20-kill, 13-dig night, while sophomore outside hitter Theresa Hart also chipped in a double-double with 12 kills and a match and career-high 22 digs for the Dons. Junior middle blocker KeLicia Shorts added 10 kills and added five blocks (three solo).

Tonight's match made history for both programs, as it was the first time live streaming video was available online for the match. The live video was made possible through Yahoo Sports, a partner of both institutions.

San Diego - 3
Gonzaga - 0

San Diego (8-4; 2-0) easily defeated visiting Gonzaga (4-11; 0-2) in West Coast Conference volleyball action Saturday night at USD's Jenny Craig Pavilion. The Toreros swept the Zags (30-17, 30-12, 30-17). Playing without injured attacker Christina Davis, Gonzaga was held to a team attack percentage of .188, while the Toreros hit for a season-high clip of .410. The rout allows San Diego to begin WCC play 2-0 and now prepare for mid-week game with San Diego State before hosting No. 13 Santa Clara next weekend.

Senior outside hitter Devon Forster hit .500 Saturday, killing 17 in 28 attempts. Sophomore's Emily Haas and Christie Dawson both reached doubled figures in kills for a USD squad that saw 12 different players register floor time. In just three games junior Lindsey Sherburne reached 51 assists (17.00 per/game) and classmate Jackie Bernardin served five of USD's 10 aces.

Sixth-year Torero head coach Jennifer Petrie also received a significant contribution from freshman attacker Erin Wiskar. The 6-foot-2 newcomer from Port Moody, British Columbia had eight kills and hit .357, appearing as a starter games one and two. Wiskar, Moira McCarthy, Laurel Abrahamson and Lauren McClure were among five USD rookies making their WCC debuts.

Gonzaga struggled on offense all night without Davis in the line-up as senior Lauren Armas was the top Bulldogs attacker with seven kills. The Bulldogs did battle at the net finishing with 12 blocks led by freshman Briawna Mueller's five block assists. GU also struggled to dig several San Diego attacks with Jessica Herrera the top player with eight digs.

Santa Clara - 3
Portland - 1

The Santa Clara University volleyball team defeated Portland 3-1 tonight in West Coast Conference action at the Leavey Center. The Broncos improve to 11-2, 2-0 with their eighth straight victory. Game scores were 30-27, 30-20, 31-33, 30-23. The Pilots fall to 9-5, 0-2 and have now lost 19 straight to Santa Clara.

Freshman Annalisa Muratore posted 17 kills to lead the Broncos, with five teammates also reaching double digits in kills. Defensively, Carline Walters led a group of four Broncos who posted double digits in digs, as she finished with a match-high 22 tonight. Muratore also recorded a career-high 12 blocks as SCU out-blocked Portland 18-8.

Portland was led by Sara Vercruyssen's 19-kill, 16-dig effort. Liz Lord followed with 14 kills and 14 digs, while Michelle Oakland also posted 14 kills.

The Pilots had an early lead to start the match, but the Broncos went on a 6-1 run, and an ace by Toni Muratore gave SCU an 11-10 lead. The frame remained close, as there were 12 ties, however junior Jac Heler scored three of the Broncos' final points, with one kill and two blocks, to put game one away.

Santa Clara took the early lead in game two, but Portland was able to tie the match at 12. Two service aces by junior Cassie Perret gave Santa Clara a 21-17 lead and the Broncos finished the game for a 2-0 lead at intermission.

It took four game points for Portland to secure the game three victory, and a kill from Lord sent the match to a fourth frame. The Pilots his .358 in game three, with Vercruyseen notching eight of her match-high 19 kills in this frame.

Santa Clara posted five blocks in the final game, including two straight from freshman Anna Cmaylo and Perret to give the Broncos a 21-15 lead and control of the team victory.