Nov. 20, 2004

Box Score

Los Angeles, Calif. - In a perfect script for Senior Saturday, senior Jody Carlson had the match of her career, leading Loyola Marymount volleyball (17-10, 8-6 WCC) to a 3-1 win over 23rd-ranked Santa Clara (18-7, 9-5 WCC) 25-30, 30-25, 30-22, 30-25 with 17 kills and a career-high six blocks. The senior also shared the spotlight with a redshirt freshman, as Jania Motton tallied a career-high 17 kills to help cap off a perfect 5-0 Saturday for LMU Athletics.

With tonight's victory closing the 2004 West Coast Conference season, a LMU win and Pepperdine loss to San Diego leaves the Lions in sole possession of fourth place in the tough volleyball conference. 15th-ranked San Diego, 16th-ranked Saint Mary's, and 23rd-ranked Santa Clara claimed the first through third spots.

Carlson, who has historically played well against the Broncos, hit .630 without a single error in her 27 swings. Carlson and Motton were joined by senior Kelli Nerison and true freshman Heather Hughes, who also tallied double-digit kills. LMU out-blocked the top-25 team 14.0 to 10.0. The Lions improve to 12-3 in Gersten Pavilion this season.

After trailing by as many as four early in the first game, seniors Jody Carlson and Kelli Nerison tied the game at 11 with a block. Santa Clara answered, taking three of the next four points to force LMU Head Coach Steve Stratos to take a timeout. Dina DeBernardi's block had the Lions within two again at 16-18, but that was as close as LMU would get. Santa Clara earned the game one win 25-30.

The Lions posted a great comeback in game two, rallying back from a 2-7 deficit to tie the game at 13 on a kill by senior setter Nicole Oehlman. While the game remained too close to predict, Santa Clara needed a timeout to talk things over when the Lions took a 24-23 lead. Carlson's kill gave the Lions a three point advantage at 28-25, and DeBernardi sealed the 30-25 game two win for LMU.

LMU carried the momentum into the third game, going up by seven at 10-3 on a kill by Heather Hughes. The freshman extended the lead to ten at 19-9 with her seventh kill of the match, but Santa Clara rattled off four straight points to get back within seven. Carlson took over late in the game, posting two quick kills to put the Lions up 27-21. Oehlman and Motton's back-to-back kills gave the Lions their second straight game 30-22.

Game four was tied seven times before LMU pulled away for good on back-to-back service aces by Oehlman to put the Lions up 18-16. DeBernardi's seventh kill gave the Lions a 23-18 lead, just before LMU rattled off three straight key points on a Nerison block, a Hughes service ace, and a kill by Motton. Motton and Oehlman then earned game point and sealed the match for LMU with kills for the 30-25 fourth game victory.

Santa Clara was led by Toni Muratore's 21 kills and Nora Miller's six blocks.

Saturday's win capped off a perfect 5-0 day for LMU Athletics with men's soccer defeating Cal State Northridge to advance to the second round of the NCAA Championship, men's water polo winning the WWPA title, men's basketball winning its season-opener against Monmouth, and women's basketball dropping Cal State Fullerton.

The Lions will play one final home match in the regular season this Tuesday, hosting Cal State Northridge at 7:00 p.m. LMU and CSUN last met in the first round of the 2003 NCAA Championship, and LMU defeated the Matadors to advance to the tournament's second round. Tuesday's match-up will be the regular season closer for both teams, who will then both await the NCAA selection show on Sunday, November 28, to determine their playoff fates.

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