Sept. 24, 2005

Box Score

Honolulu, Hawaii - Though local flood warnings kept the NCAA-leading attendance slightly lower than usual, over 6,500 fans were on hand at the Stan Sheriff Center for the five-game, nearly three-hour volleyball thriller between Loyola Marymount (11-1) and ninth-ranked Hawaii (6-6). Four Lions tallied double-digit kills, including Heather Hughes' career-best 29 to lead LMU to the 3-2 (30-26, 26-30, 31-39, 23-30, 15-13) win.

The Lions became the first unranked team in eight years to defeat UH. Hawaii had not lost to an unranked team since Pepperdine in 1997. Since that loss, the Rainbow Wahine had won 206 straight matches against unranked opponents.

Hughes' combination of 29 kills and 16 digs made her one of three Lions to post double-doubles. Setter K.C. Walsh (62 assists, 17 digs) and Christianna Reneau (14 kills, 28 digs) joined her.

LMU took command of game one early, jumping to a six-point lead at 10-4 against the ninth-ranked Rainbow Wahine. In the midst of a six-point run, a kill by freshman Emily Day gave LMU the 5-1 lead and forced an early Hawaii timeout. Hometown favorite Michelle Look brought the Lions out of the timeout with a service ace for the 6-1 lead. But UH battled back to tie the game at 12 and took a one point lead at 16-15. That was the last lead the Rainbow Wahine saw in the first game, as Reneau took over with late-game heroics. The sophomore tallied three kills, including one to earn game point. Hughes then secured the 30-26 game one win with her seventh kill of the night.

The second game was tied as late as 24-24, and Dina DeBernardi kept the Lions within two on a kill at 27-25. But LMU dropped to hit just .137 as a team, and Hawaii took the close second game 30-26.

Although they trailed early in the third game, the Lions hung close enough to work their way to a tie at 17-17. LMU took a 27-26 lead on a kill by Reneau, and later earned game point at 30-29 on a kill by senior Krista Houseman. Hughes' 18th kill of the match earned the 31-39 game three win to give the Lions the 2-1 lead. LMU held the Rainbow Wahine to just a .118 team hitting percentage, the lowest of the three games.

Hawaii switched the momentum in the fourth game, holding the lead throughout. LMU pulled within two at 13-11 and forced the Rainbow Wahine to take a timeout. UH's Ashley Watanabe then served her team to five straight points out of the timeout. The Rainbow Wahine never looked back, holding LMU to hit just .058 in the 30-23 game four loss.

The fifth game was perhaps the closest of all, with the score tied at 10, 11, 12, and 13 after Hawaii had jumped to a 5-0 lead. Day was instrumental early on, recording the Lions first three points on kills. Each team had its best hitting game of the match, with LMU edging UH .346 to .333.

"We knew we would have to come in here and play our absolute best," Head Coach Steve Stratos said. "But our reason for coming to Hawaii was to play in an extremely challenging environment to prepare for our West Coast Conference season."

Houseman was the fourth Lion to record double-digit kills, finishing with 12 and hitting .385.

The Lions will battle UH again tomorrow night, with first serve slated for 10:00 p.m. Pacific Time. Fans can follow all of the action as it happens in Honolulu by visiting the Hawaiian Lions section on the volleyball page at www.LMULions.com.