July 24, 2001

Loyola Marymount University volleyball has become a stomping ground for the nation's top volleyball players, especially those by the name of Sarah.

Sarah McFarland, a 2001 graduate of LMU and a two-time All-American, has been invited to train with the USA National A-Team Program in Colorado Springs following her graduation in May. Her first active tournament participation will take place sometime in August.

McFarland will join former LMU All-American Sarah Noriega in the USA Volleyball program. Noriega has emerged as a rising star in the international volleyball circut. She returned to the USA National Team after playing professionally in Italy following the Olympics in Sydney.

Noriega recently finished an impressive showing for Team USA in the 2001 Montreux Volley Masters Tournament. She led USA to a five-set upset over second-ranked Russia to help the Americans to a fifth-place finish in the tournament. A five-set win over Italy in the final game led Team USA to the fifth-place finish. Noriega finished the tournament as the second best scorer.

McFarland finished the 2000 season as the all-time single season NCAA kills per game leader averaging 7.78 kills per game. She smashed the previous mark of 7.54 kpg set by UMKC's Catalina Suarez in 1988. McFarland took over the record posting 227 more kills than Suarez in only 27 additional games. McFarland also set an LMU record with 2,020 career kills, a mark that ranks second in the West Coast Conference, just nine shy of the record.

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