Oct. 22, 2001
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This Week
The Lions return home to continue West Coast Conference play. LMU will host back-to-back conference matches against Gonzaga and Portland this week. The Lions start off the weekend with a battle against the Gonzaga Bulldogs on Friday, Oct. 26. The Portland Pilots will be in town to face the Lions on Saturday, Oct. 27. Both contests are slated to begin at 7 p.m. in Gersten Pavilion on the Loyola Marymount University campus.
Recent Action
The Lions snapped their three-match losing streak with a couple of WCC victories over the weekend. LMU went on the road to stun the San Diego Toreros with a 3-1 win (32-34, 30-21, 31-29, 30-22). The loss marked the first conference loss for USD of the season. The Lions were not done yet, as they then traveled north to take the match against the Saint Mary's Gaels by the same 3-1 score (30-28, 22-30, 30-19, 30-16).
Gustorf Sets New Career-High...Again
Junior Laura Gustorf had a career night for the second straight time in San Diego last Friday night. She collected 23 digs against the Toreros breaking her old mark of 20 set against Texas El-Paso (9/18/99). The following night against the Saint Mary's Gaels she picked up 14 digs and ended the weekend as the team's dig leader with 37. In the previous match against the San Francisco two weeks ago, Gustorf posted a personal-best 22 kills. She recorded a team leading hitting clip of .429 and also took a career-high 42 swings against the Lady Dons. She smashed her old mark of 14 kills set against George Washington (9/4/99).
Gallup...A Consistent Contributor
Junior Kristen Gallup was an example of consistency over the weekend. The 6-foot-2 native of Mission Viejo, Calif., put up identical 25 kills and 13 digs performances on back to back nights, first against the San Diego Toreros and then again against the Saint Mary's Gaels. Those totals marked the ninth and 10th double-doubles of the year for Gallup. As is if that was not enough, she also matched a career-best with the six blocks she put up against the Toreros. Gallup ended the week with nine total blocks.
Block Party...All Invited
The Lions found rejuvenated their defense in San Diego over the weekend, recording a season match-high of 14 blocks against the Toreros. That mark was half a block better than the 13.5 blocks put up against Clemson earlier in the season. This marked only the second time all year that LMU has been able to tally double-digit block totals and only the sixth time it has out-blocked its opponent.
Oehlman Moves To Fifth On Career Assists Chart
Setter Nicole Oehlman has already made it into the LMU career record book for assists in just her second season as a Lion. Oehlman finished her rookie campaign with 1,287 assists which would have placed her seventh all-time if not for the two-season minimum for career marks. Add to that the 755 assists she has racked up this year and it moves her to fifth all-time with 2,042 career assists. The 110 assists she picked up over the weekend pushed her past Andrea Fort and among the top five in LMU history.
Kimball Cranks Up
Sophomore Kealani Kimball has cranked up her game and taken it to new levels as of late. The Hawaiian native was impressive in the Lions' two wins over the weekend tallying 24 kills, 31 digs and 14 blocks. Kimball put up a career best 10 blocks (1 solo, 9 assists) against the Toreros on Friday night and was key in holding USD to a .138 hitting percentage. She led the squad in blocks again the following evening against Saint Mary's with four. Kimball ended the week hitting .283, averaging 3.00 kills, 3.88 digs and 1.75 blocks per game.
Lions End One Streak...And Begin Another
The Loyola Marymount Lions had a bit of bad luck a couple of weeks ago stringing together three straight losses for the first time all season. The streak of bad luck began on Oct. 6 with a 3-1 loss to Pepperdine. The damage continued with losses to Santa Clara (3-0) and San Francisco (3-2) over the weekend. But as the Lions have shown in the past, they are not ones to stay down and out. LMU quickly recovered and went on the road to record two WCC wins last weekend. The Lions, hungry for some wins, posted victories over San Diego (3-1) and Saint Mary's (3-1) to start a two-match winning streak. LMU will look to extend that streak to three and maybe four games this weekend as its hosts Gonzaga and Portland at Gersten Pavilion.
Lions In The Rankings
After falling out of the rankings weeks ago, the Lions have yet to climb back in. LMU began the 2001 season ranked No. 24 in the USA Today/AVCA Division I Coaches Top 25 poll.
Stratos Update
Head coach Steve Stratos is entering his 12th year at the helm of the Loyola Marymount women's volleyball program. In 11 seasons at LMU, Stratos has led the Lions to eight 20-win seasons and eight postseason appearances, including four consecutive in the NCAA Championships. Including the Lions record in 2001, Stratos has posted a career total of 242-108, for a .691 winning percentage, the highest in LMU volleyball history and second among current WCC coaches. In West Coast Conference action, he owns a record of 122-39, for a .758 winning percentage. With 122 career conference victories, Stratos ranks second among current WCC coaches.
Injury Update
The 2001 Lions will be without the services of outside hitter Jaimee Brubacher and setter Kelly Ward this season. Brubacher's volleyball career has come to an unfortunate end due to suffering from severe shin splints with compartment syndrome. The Scottsdale, Ariz., native ended her career with 389 kills and 463 digs. Ward, a native of Phoenix, Ariz., will no longer compete due to a back injury. Both Brubacher and Ward will remain a part of the LMU volleyball team supporting the squad and coaches in administrative roles.
Weekend Recap:
at San Diego - Oct. 19
The Loyola Marymount women's volleyball team recorded a 3-1 (32-34, 30-21, 31-29, 30-22) upset victory over San Diego last Friday night in front of 767 in attendance at Jenny Craig Pavilion in San Diego, Calif. The win ends a three-match losing skid for LMU. The Lions were paced by junior Kristen Gallup who recorded a game-high 25 kills on the night. The Lions dropped Game 1, 32-34, but came back to sweep the next three games in a row to pull off the road win. Gallup ended the evening with her ninth double-double of the year collecting 13 digs to go along with her 25 kills. Junior Laura Gustorf was cleaning up the floor defensively as she finished with a career-best 23 digs. Freshman Dina DeBernardi and sophomore Kealani Kimball were the Lions other two hot hitters as they tallied 13 and 10 kills, respectively. Kimball stepped up for the Lions defensively again putting up a career-high 10 blocks (1 solo, 9 block assists). She helped LMU out-block USD by a 14-9 margin. USD was led by Devon Forster who had 15 kills on the night. Lindsey Lampert and Noel Frohman followed with 12 kills each. The Toreros offense was stifled by LMU's defense managing a -.019 hitting percentage as a team in Game 2.
at Saint Mary's - Oct. 20
The Lions defeated Saint Mary's College 3-1 (30-28, 22-30, 30-19, 30-16) in a West Coast Conference match last Saturday night at McKeon Pavilion. Kristen Gallup led the way for the Lions with 25 kills and 13 digs. Loyola Marymount (10-7 Overall/4-3 WCC) won the opening game of the match, 30-28, by barely outhitting the Gaels with a .118 hitting percentage. Saint Mary's (3-15 Overall/0-7 WCC) rallied to win game two 30-22 with a .196 hitting mark. After the break the Lions came out focused winning game three, 30-19, to take a 2-1 advantage in the match. It was all LMU in game four as the Lions posted a 30-16 win, recording their fourth win in West Coast Conference play. In the contest Loyola Marymount out matched the Gaels in kills (74-51), digs (86-76) and hitting percentage (.245 to .137). The Gaels were able to tally more blocks (14-11). Loyola Marymount had three players post double-digit in kills, with Gallup leading the way with 25. Kealani Kimball added 14 kills and Dina DeBernardi had 13 kills to go along with her .345 hitting percentage. LMU setter Nicole Oehlman had 52 assists and a team-high 19 digs. Junior outside hitter Rachel Avilla paced Saint Mary's with 11 kills and 11 digs. Carla Jo Vandenbark led the team with 12 kills and Meagan Smith added 15 digs defensively. Setter Brooke Lowry recorded a double-double with 43 assists and 11 digs.
Bulldogs' Bites
The Gonzaga Bulldogs continue to struggle through the season with a 6-11 overall record and a 3-4 mark in conference play. Christina Davis is the Zags offensive leader with 191 kills. Abby Cullen and Zuzana Tumova battle it out for second best with 186 and 185 kills, respectively. The Lions look to go a perfect 2-0 against the Bulldogs this season. LMU recorded a 3-0 victory when the two teams met earlier this season (9/29/01).
Pilots' Preview
The Portland Pilots are trying to make their way through the season with a 4-12 overall mark and a 1-6 WCC record. Portland has recently suffered two straight losses to Washington (3-1) and Gonzaga (3-1). Bridget Dechant leads the Pilots offense with 159 kills and a .224 hitting percentage. The Lions defeated the Pilots, 3-0, in their first meeting of the year (9/28/01).
