Nov. 14, 2004

Loyola Marymount - 3
Portland - 1

The University of Portland volleyball team opened play battling the Loyola Marymount Lions to five set points and winning 31-29 in the first game, but lost the match, 3-1 (29-31, 30-16, 30-24, 30-16) tonight at the Chiles Center. Portland moves to 10-16 on the season, 1-12 in WCC play, while the Lions improve to 16-9 on the season, and post a 7-5 conference mark.

"I am disappointed we lost," said Head Coach Doug Sparks. "I thought the girls put themselves in a position to win tonight, which is how I think you beat good teams. I was happy with the girls' mental preparation for tonight's match; what it came down to was we could not sustain good volleyball for two hours."

The Pilots did not begin the first set strongly, but gained momentum as the set went on. Portland slowly chipped away at the Lions 10-7 lead. A block by Monique Kettler tied the match at 15. Liz Lord had a cross court kill that gave the Pilots an 18-17 lead which was the turning point in the set. Portland went on to hold Loyola Marymount to five game points taking the match 31-29.

In game two, the Lions came out strong taking an early 3-1 lead. A kill off the slide by Lord moved the Pilots to within one point, 4-3 and that would be the closest Portland got in this set. Loyola Marymount took the game 30-16.

Portland started game three with a 2-0 run, however, the Lions roared back with Kelli Nerison recording back to back kills for a 6-4 lead. The Pilots continued to fight; Oakland recorded a kill off an assist from Kara Pein bringing Portland within one point of LMU, 9-8. The Lions came out on top in the end taking the set 30-24.

LMU closed out the game and the match taking game four 30-16.

Sara Vercruyssen recorded her 14th double-double of the season with 19 kills and 11 digs. Oakland tacked on 14 kills and a .333 hitting percentage, while three Pilot players recorded double figure digs led by Murphy McClenahan's 19. As a team, Portland recorded hit for .198 and was out blocked 11-7.

Kelli Nerison led all players with 20 kills and a .529 hitting percentage. Heather Hues added 18 kills and 14 digs. LMU hit for .367 on the night.

Pepperdine - 3
Gonzaga - 0

On senior night at Gonzaga University the Bulldogs (4-23, 0-13 WCC) jumped out to early leads in all three games but could not hold off late Pepperdine University rallies as the Waves picked up a 3-0 West Coast Conference volleyball win at Martin Centre. Pepperdine (10-13, 7-5 WCC) won the match 30-25, 30-25, 30-26 to sweep the season series against Gonzaga.

In game one Gonzaga jumped out to a 16-11 lead only to watch Pepperdine tie the match at 18-18 and go on for the 30-25 win. The Bulldogs held a four-point advantage even later in game two as they had a 23-19 lead before the Waves knotted the score at 25-25 before scoring the final five points. In the final game Gonzaga was up 25-21 before Pepperdine went on a 9-1 run to sweep the match.

"Our team played with a lot of energy tonight as we jumped out to early leads in all three games," stated Gonzaga head coach Kip Yoshimura. "We had a good effort; unfortunately we didn't have the stamina to put away a good Pepperdine. I was really proud of the way our team played as they tried to give our seniors a big win to end their home WCC careers."

Gonzaga's three departing seniors all played big roles on the night with senior setter Emilee Gihring playing hard all over the floor. In addition to passing out 27 assists, Gihring finished with five kills, 12 digs and seven blocks. Fellow seniors Lauren Armas and Rebecca Wood also got into the act with Armas adding five kills, two aces and four blocks. Wood ended the match with four kills. Freshman Becky Jones was the Bulldogs top attack with seven kills while Jessica Herrera had a team-high 19 digs.

Pepperdine was led by Kristen Shultz with 16 kills on 42 attacks while Kristin McClune chipped in 10. The Waves big front line dominated play at the net with 24 team blocks. Lecca Roberts had seven blocks with two solos while Sophia Milo had five block assists.

San Diego - 3
Saint Mary's - 0

With a three-game sweep over No. 12 St. Mary's Saturday night in the Jenny Craig Pavilion, No. 19 San Diego clinches the 2004 West Coast Conference Championship. USD (19-4; 12-0 WCC), winners of 13-straight, own any possible tie-braking scenario with second-place St. Mary's (22-3; 10-2 WCC) after defeating the Gaels for the second time this season.

Senior Devon Forster was once again the catalyst for San Diego, hammering 19 kills to lead all players. Game scores went (30-26, 30-25 and 30-24).

"We played flawlessly tonight," commented Jennifer Petrie after clinching her first WCC Championship during her six year tenure as the Torero head coach. "We are still focused on finishing out the conference strong. There is a lot left to play in the season. We have high aspirations to finish out the conference schedule undefeated."

San Diego's flawless play included outstanding individual efforts from a Torero team that out-hit the Gaels .240-.110. Senior Kristen Hurst totaled 11 kills, junior Jackie Bernardin tallied 21 digs, Lindsey Sherburne distributed 50 assists and junior Monica Peterson served seven straight points to allow USD a comeback victory in the later stages of Game Two.

In front of a loud collection of over 1,200 fans the night began with both teams trading points throughout most of Game One. Manning the back-row, the defensive efforts provided by the USD trio of Sherburne, Forster, and Bernardin, held the high-powered Gael offense to a lowly .176 hitting percentage in the opening frame. San Diego emerged from a 21-21 tie to take Game One 30-26.

St. Mary's bolted to a 5-1 advantage in Game Two, with four consecutive San Diego errors accounting for the early lead. With San Diego lacking rhythm, St. Mary's assumed a commanding 22-16 Game Two advantage. San Diego mounted a late rally. Consecutive kills by Hurst and middle blocker Emily Haas cut the Gaels' lead to 22-18.

Trailing by two, 25-23, Petrie called upon reserve defensive specialist Monica Peterson to take the serve. The junior from Los Angeles calmly reeled off seven consecutive points to close out the game. Three kills by Forster assisted in the Toreros' spirited comeback, sending USD into the locker room up two games to none.

With its conference championship hopes slipping away, the Gaels opened Game Three by taking a 4-1 lead. San Diego quickly answered back to tie the score at four. The two squads went back and forth until a vicious kill by Hurst gave the Toreros the lead for good at 10-9. A service ace by Bernardin and a kill by outside hitter Kristen Carlson put the Toreros in front 14-10. Closing in on the WCC title, the senior tandem of Forster and Hurst combined for 15 kills in the final frame to secure the championship. Hurst scored the final point, with the Toreros winning Game Three 30-24 and the celebration ensued.

Santa Clara - 3
San Francisco - 1

The 22nd-ranked Santa Clara University volleyball closed the home season with a four-game victory over San Francisco tonight in West Coast Conference action at the Leavey Center. Games scores were 30-21, 26-30, 30-22, 30-15. Toni Muratore's 20-kill effort led the Broncos to their 17th win on the season, as she played in her final home match, after deciding to forego her final year of eligibility. Santa Clara's WCC mark improves to 8-4.

The Dons were led by Kristin Hasselberg's 15-kill effort, but fall to 11-18 overall, 4-9 in league play. Don Stephanie Voelckers surpassed 2,000 career kills in the contest with her fifth spike of the night.

Santa Clara also saw a career-high 57 assists from Kristen Luxton, who also posted a double-double with 10 digs. Jac Heler also notched a double-double, posting 11 kills, 17 digs and added seven blocks. Other strong performances include Nora Miller's career-high 10 blocks, Caroline Walters' 20 digs and Anna Cmaylo's 12 kills,

Santa Clara jumped out to an early lead in game one, taking a 6-1 advantage and forcing USF to take an early time out. Miller posted three blocks in the team's first seven points to lead the charge. Muratore added seven kills as the squad hit. 326 in the frame.

Game two saw nine ties early on, but the Dons were able to break a 19-19 score with a 5-1 run, and held on to even the match at intermission. Voelckers recorded her milestone tally to set up game point.

Santa Clara jumped out to an 8-3 lead after the break and closed the frame with a Cmaylo kill to recapture the match lead. Santa Clara held USF to a .000 hitting percentage in game three. The Broncos' 17th and final block of the night was by Miller and Heler to close this evening's action.

Santa Clara out-hit San Francisco .243 to .055.