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Sept. 25, 2001
This Week
The Lions go on the road to the Pacific Northwest to open West Coast Conference action. LMU travels to Portland first to take on the Pilots on Friday, Sept. 28. The Lions then head to Spokane, Wash., to face the Gonzaga Bulldogs. Both matches are slated for a 7 p.m. start time.
Recent Action
The Lions split their matches last week defeating San Diego State and falling to No. 21 Utah. LMU beat the Aztecs 3-0 (30-20, 30-28, 30-23) to start the week after 10 days without competition. Unfortunately, the Lions could not keep the ball rolling against the 21st-ranked Utes and dropped a 3-1 loss (30-25, 23-30, 30-25, 30-19).
Gallup Gears Up
Junior Kristen Gallup has geared up and become one of LMU's go-to hitters this year. Gallup currently leads all Lion and West Coast Conference hitters with 164 kills on the year. Her 4.56 kills per game is also a squad and conference best. Gallup has already exceeded her career-season best kills total, which prior to this season was 100 (2000). Despite the loss to Utah over the weekend, Gallup posted her season-best hitting percentage clip of .326 (17k-3e-43a). Her career best hitting percentage of .583 (7k-0e-12a) was set last year (9/9/00) against Central Michigan.
Oehlman Almost Perfect
Setter Nicole Oehlman was near perfection last week, not setting though, hitting. The 5-10 sophomore recorded just five hitting errors through four matches. She ended the week with a .551 hitting percentage collecting 43 kills on 69 attempts. She was error-free against Indiana (13k-0e-21a) and New Mexico (15k-0e-21a). Her .714 hitting clip against the Lobos (9/8/01) was a career-best.
DeBernardi One Of Many Determined Lions
Freshman Dina DeBernardi continues to play like anything but a freshman. The 6-0 foot rookie is currently second on the squad with 98 kills and a .301 hitting percentage. She has played in all of the Lions' nine matches while making three starts. An all-around athlete, she also ranks second in service aces (11) and blocks (19).
Oehlman Continues To Climb The Charts
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 418 assists she already racked up this year and it places her sixth all-time with 1,715 career assists.
Gustorf Serves Up New Record
Junior Laura Gustorf set a new LMU record for service aces in a four-game match two weeks ago. Gustorf was in the zone against Indiana (Sept. 7) as she lit the Hoosiers up with seven service aces. Along with being a new LMU record, it was also a personal best for Gustorf. She currently leads the Lions with 18 aces and is on pace to finish with 50 for the season, that mark would tie for third on the all-time single-season chart. Her current service ace average of .50 ranks third on the single-season chart.
Preparing For WCC Action
The Lions, who have not been able to string together more than two wins so far this season, will be looking to better that mark as they get set for West Coast Conference action. If history is any indication, LMU should feel confident going into Friday's conference opener at Portland. The Lions are 15-2 in WCC opening matches.
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 237-105, for a .693 winning percentage, the highest in LMU volleyball history and second among current WCC coaches. In West Coast Conference action, he owns a record of 118-36, for a .766 winning percentage. With 118 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:
vs. San Diego State - Sept. 18
The Lions made quick work of San Diego State, 3-0, (30-20, 30-28, 30-23) in front of 273 on Tuesday night in Gersten Pavilion. Senior Eleftheria Koukou led the Lions with a game-high 16 kills on the night. The Lions saw SDSU jump out to a 14-10 lead in Game 1. The Aztecs' hitting went cold though as LMU took control and recorded a 30-20 win. The Lions won the next two games in very dramatic fashion, 30-28 and 30-23, respectively. LMU saw a 20-8 lead in Game 2 get cut to just one point (29-28). Unfortunately for the Aztecs that would be as close as they came to stealing a game as the Lions went on to sweep SDSU 3-0. Aside from Koukou's game-high kills, she also hit a blistering .419 on the night (16k-3e-31a). Freshman Dina DeBernardi continued her hot hitting streak as she pounded out 10 kills on 21 attacks. Junior Laura Gustorf and sophomore Kealani Kimball kept the Lions in the match defensively. Gustorf picked up a game-high 15 digs while Kimball collected 13 digs of her own. The Aztecs were led by Zlatina Anguelova who recorded a team-high 12 kills. Anguelova ended the evening with a double-double as she also dug a team-best 13 balls.
vs. Utah- Sept. 22
The Loyola Marymount women's volleyball team suffered a 3-1 loss (30-25, 23-30, 30-25, 30-19) in front of 317 at Albert Gersten Pavilion on Saturday night. Junior outside hitter Kristen Gallup led the Lions with 17 kills on the night. The Lions dropped Game 1, 30-25, to the Utes. Utah out hit the Lions in the first game .213 (17k-7e-47a) to .109 (13k-8e-46a). LMU came back to tie the match at 1-1 with a 30-23 win in Game 2 but subsequently dropped Games 3 and 4 for the loss. Besides leading the Lions in kills, Gallup also led the squad with a .326 hitting clip (17k-3e-43a). Senior Eleftheria Koukou was the only other Lion with double-digit kills, she tallied 11 on the night. Gallup recorded the only double-double of the night for LMU as she collected 13 digs as well. Utah was led by Sylva Strzinkova who picked up 17 kills in the match. Adrian Bradley-Duke led all hitters on the night with a .500 hitting percentage (9k-1e-16a). Strzinkova and Alisa Geddes each recorded double-doubles for the Utes. Strzinkova picked up 15 digs while Geddes tallied 10 kills and 11 digs.
Pilots Preview
Portland welcomes the Lions with a 2-5 overall record and is looking to snap a two-match losing streak. The Pilots have had a rough season thus far as all of their losses have come in three-game sweeps. Defensively the Pilots are strong, they are out-blocking their opponents by a 17-13 margin. Offensive has been a struggle though as they are getting out-hit as a team, .123-.240. Bridget Dechant is Portland's kill leader with 65 on the year. She is followed closely by Bridget Beschen who has tallied 53 kills so far. The Lions own a decisive 23-7 series advantage over the Pilots and have won the last 18 consecutive meetings. Since 1995, Portland has taken only one game from LMU.
Bulldog Bites
Gonzaga, who has gotten off to a slow start, enters the weekend with a 3-7 overall record. The Bulldogs, like Portland, are looking to snap a two-match losing streak after losses to Idaho (3-1) and Montana State (3-1). GU is led offensively by Zuzana Tumova who has collected 119 kills. Christina Davis and Abby Cullen are not far behind as they have picked up 110 and 108 kills, respectively. Cullen has also stepped up defensively for the Bulldogs leading the squad with 37 blocks. LMU holds a 21-7 advantage over Gonzaga. The Lions have won the last 16 consecutive meetings with the Bulldogs, in that span GU has won just five games.
