Oct. 1, 2004

Box Score

Moraga, Calif. - Freshman Heather Hughes tallied 21 kills, but it was not enough to push Loyola Marymount volleyball past a hot Saint Mary's team in Moraga Friday evening. The Lions (8-5, 0-1 WCC) were seeking their fifth straight West Coast Conference-opener victory, but fell to the Gaels (12-1, 1-0 WCC) in four games, 22-30, 30-28, 30-21, 30-23.

LMU out-blocked and out-dug Saint Mary's, who was coming off its second victory over top-15 Stanford on Tuesday. In addition to Hughes' career-high 21 kills, senior setter Nicole Oehlman added a double-double performance with 49 assists and 10 digs. Senior Kelli Nerison added nine blocks and eight kills.

The Lions opened the match hitting over .400 as a team for the fourth straight game, out-hitting Saint Mary's .412 to .189. LMU had hit better than .450 in each of the three games in September 21's sweep of San Diego State. Senior Nicole Oehlman earned game point for the Lions with a service ace, and freshman Heather Hughes secured the 22-30 game one win with a kill.

The teams traded points in the second set, with the lead changing eight times during the course of the game. A Krista Houseman kill gave the Lions their largest advantage at 16-21, but the Gaels rallied to tie the game at 25 and held on for the 30-28 win.

The Lions cooled off to team hitting percentages of .056 and .000 in games three and four, falling 30-21 and 30-23.

Saint Mary's had four players tally double-digit kills, led by Lindsey Bogason, who posted 15 while hitting .300.

The Lions will continue the WCC-opening weekend tomorrow at San Francisco. Fans can follow the match on Gametracker, found at www.LMULions.com. For the first time in either program's history, San Francisco will offer live streaming video of Saturday night's match. To watch the Lions live Saturday night, click here.

-GO LIONS-