Oct. 31, 2004

Pepperdine - 3
San Francisco - 1

Sophia Milo pounded out 12 kills with one error and recorded seven blocks, while Kristen Shultz served a career-high four aces as the Pepperdine Waves downed the San Francisco Dons 3-1 (30-18, 17-30, 30-27, 30-18) Saturday night at Firestone Fieldhouse.

Pepperdine (7-12, 4-5 WCC) opened the night by hitting .356 in the opening frame led by Katy Daly's 10 kills on 15 swings and outblocked the Dons (9-16, 2-7 WCC) by a 4-0 margin. The Waves jumped out to a 3-1 lead and continued to apply offensive pressure as San Francisco trailed 13-8 when Jeff Nelson burned a timeout. A 5-0 Pepperdine run was capped as Daly and Milo teamed for a block. During the run Daly logged three kills. The Waves would extend its lead to seven 21-13 as Nelson used his second timeout. The break came at the beginning of what would be a 7-0 run which gave the Waves an 11-point lead, 24-13. Fittingly, Daly recorded the final point of the game on a kill.

Daly recorded a match-best 22 kills and added 13 digs for her 11th double-double of the year. Melissa Mehlhorn notched her team-best 14th double-double with 50 assists and 13 digs, while Shultz finished the night with 12 kill and digs for her ninth.

Stephanie Voelckers paced the Dons' attack with 13 kills, while Jencie Lejuene and KeLicia Shorts tacked on 12 and 11, respectively. Shorts accounted for seven of USF's 14 blocks in the match.

Game two was a complete role reversal for the Waves hit minus .093 committing 13 errors with just nine kills. This time it was USF that jumped out to the early 3-1 lead and controlled the tempo of the game as Pepperdine struggled to find a rhythm. By the time Nina Matthies used her second timeout of the game, the Dons held an 11-poimt advantage, 22-11. USF never let up and evened the match at 1-1 heading into the break.

The closest game of the night came in the third frame as Pepperdine held the early advantage but could never shake the Dons. Trailing 6-2, USF slowly clawed back into the match and evened the game up at 15-all on one of the team's four service aces, forcing the Waves to use a timeout. USF would take its first lead of the game off a Lejuene kill, 18-17. Pepperdine recaptured the lead at 20-19 only to fall behind 22-20. Trailing by one, 23-22, the Waves went on a 5-0 run which ended with the final two aces from Shultz. The Dons closed the gap to one at 27-26 but were never able to regain the lead as Pepperdine took a 2-1 lead in the match.

The final stanza was similar to the first as Pepperdine broke the game open after a 4-4 tie. Three blocks and a Dons' attack error had the Waves up 8-4 and in control of the match. Pepperdine used several small runs as it hit .364 in the game and cruised to its 23rd-consecutive victory over USF.

Christina Hinds was the backbone of the Pepperdine defense as she all players with 20 digs bringing her career total to 1,237, 114 short of the school's all-time record and 22 shy of placing 10th on the WCC all-time list. As a team, Pepperdine recorded 17.5 blocks as Milo and Lecca Roberts recorded seven each, while Mehlhorn chipped in five and Kristin McClune finished with four.

Saint Mary's - 3
Loyola Marymount - 1

The No. 14-ranked Saint Mary's volleyball team dropped the first game of the night to Loyola Marymount, but bounced back with three consecutive victories to take the match 3-1. The Gaels dropped the first game 28-30, but managed regain control and take the next three by scores of 30-26, 32-30 and 30-28. With the win the Gaels improved to 19-2 on the season and 8-1 in conference play. Tonight's win marked SMC's first ever on LMU's home court.

LMU took the first game from the Gaels, but Saint Mary's fought back to win three straight to improve to 8-1 in conference play. The loss marks just the second time this season that the Lions fell at home, as the still-impressive record in Gersten Pavilion is now 25-3 over the last two seasons. Tonight was Saint Mary's first-ever win on the Lions' home court.

The Lions tied the first game at 10 each on a 3-0 rally that featured a kill by redshirt freshman Jania Motton and a service ace by senior Kelli Nerison. The Lions built a two point advantage as DeBernardi served three straight points. A kill by freshman Heather Hughes then forced a Saint Mary's timeout at 14-16.

LMU went up by five at 21-26 on kills by Hughes and Nerison. A block by Nerison and Oehlman earned game point for the Lions at 23-29. But the Gaels responded with a 4-0 run behind the serving of Kaui Salzman. Motton ended the run with her second kill of the night for the 28-30 LMU win.

LMU led by as many as four early in the second game, but Saint Mary's battled back with a 5-0 run to take a 12-10 lead. A Gael service ace extended the SMC lead to six at 27-21, but sophomore Sandy Krone entered the match to give the Lions a late-game spark. Krone's two quick kills and a solo block and kill by DeBernardi pulled the Lions within two at 28-26 and force a Saint Mary's timeout. The Gaels took the next two points however, to edge the Lions 30-26 in game two.

Game three was tied 19 times, including at 28-28. Saint Mary's earned game point at 29-28, but DeBernardi tied the game again at 29 with a solo block. The Gaels took the next point, but LMU brought it back to 30 each on Hughes' 10th kill of the night. But Saint Mary's, hitting .278, won back-to-back points for the 32-30 game three win.

Game four picked up where game three left off, with a tie score at 15 different points including as late as 27. Saint Mary's earned game point at 29-27, but Carlson kept the Lions alive with her 11th kill of the night. The Gaels sealed the match taking the next point for the 30-28 game four win.

The Gaels showcased a number of offensive weapons, with three players posting double-doubles. Kaui Salzman led the way with match highs of 17 kills and 17 digs, while also managing to hit a team high .326. Missie Stidham wasn't far behind Slazman in either category, posting 14 kills and 15 digs. Setter Mandy Bible tallied 54 assists and 15 digs on the night, while Lindsey Bogason also made large contributions, tying Salzman with a match high 17 kills.

LMU was led by senior Jody Carlson, who tallied a season-high 11 kills to go with seven digs and four blocks, while Nicole Oehlman had a double-double night with 56 assists and 17 digs. Junior Dina DeBernardi added a team-high 16 kills and four blocks.

San Diego - 3
Portland - 0

The University of Portland volleyball team put up a good fight, but was over matched by the No. 22 ranked San Diego Toreros tonight in WCC action. The Pilots dropped a quick three-game match (30-21, 30-22, 30-17) to the Toreros at the Chiles Center. With the loss, Portland moves to 10-12 on the season, 1-8 in WCC play, while the Toreros improve to 16-4 overall, and a perfect 9-0 in the WCC.

The Toreros showed their strength right from the first serve as sophomore Christie Dawson picked up the kill, beginning a 6-0 run for San Diego. A powerful block by Liz Lord and Monique Kettler put an end to the Torero's offensive attack as Portland managed to pull within two points, 18-16. USD freshman Erin Wiskar put one away down the line securing the game win for the Toreros, 30-21.

In the second set, the Pilots came out fighting. The blocking power of Michelle Oakland and Lord kept the score at an even 4-4 early on. The game was close as there were 12 tied scores and seven lead changes throughout. Despite the Pilots' hard work, San Diego's attacking power won out in the end as the match went to the Toreros, 30-22.

Portland was down early on in the third set. The Toreros opened a 26-12 lead before Portland's defense forced four-straight errors for a 5-0 Pilot run. After a powerful cross court kill by Sara Vercruyssen (17-26), San Diego went on to pound out the win with a 4-0 run.

Sara Vercruyssen led the Pilots with nine kills. Nicole Thometz and Michelle Oakland added six and four kills, respectively. Sheena Surplus contributed with 26 assists, while teammate Murphy McClenhahan led the Pilots with 10 digs. Portland hit for .071 in the match and added eight total team blocks.

Three San Diego players recorded double-figure kills, led by senior Devon Forster with 24. Junior Lindsey Sherburne added 41 assists and 11 digs. As a team, San Diego hit for .325 and tallied ten total team blocks.

Santa Clara - 3
Gonzaga - 1

The 19th-ranked Santa Clara University volleyball team rallied to defeat Gonzaga tonight in four games at the Martin Centre. After dropping the first game 24-30, Santa Clara improves to 16-4 overall by following with 30-19, 30-16, 30-22 game victories, and is now 7-2 in West Coast Conference play. The Bulldogs fall to 4-19, 0-9 with their 21st straight loss to the Broncos.

Sophomore Kim McGiven led the Broncos for the second straight night, tallying 18 kills to lead all attackers. Four other Broncos notched double digits in kills: Toni Muratore 14, Nora Miller a career-high 13, Cassie Perret 12 and Anna Cmaylo 10. Perret notched her eighth double-double of the season by also contributing 11 digs. Jac Heler led all defenders with 21 digs, one shy of her personal best. Miller and Cmaylo added five blocks each to aid the Bronco defense.

Gonzaga opened the match strong, connecting for 17 kills and a .424 attack percentage in the game one win. Lacey Bell and Becky Jones paced the GU offense on the night, each finishing with nine kills. Bell also added a team-high 13 digs for Gonzaga to record her first double-double of the year. Emilee Gihring contributed 11 digs and 31 assists while Jessica Herrera reached double-digit digs for the 23rd match this season.

Santa Clara regrouped after the first game behind the hot hand of McGiven. The Broncos held Gonzaga to a .045 clip the rest of the night.