Nov. 1, 2008

Box Score

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - LMU (12-11, 2-7) dropped a four-set match to No. 24 Santa Clara (15-6, 6-3) by scores of 25-21, 28-26, 19-25 and 25-18, on Saturday afternoon in Gersten Pavilion. The Lions have now lost four straight matches, including back-to-back losses at home for the first time this season.

Senior Emily Day led the Lion offense on the afternoon, posting a match-high 18 kills on 54 attacks for a .185 hitting percentage. The native of Torrance, Calif. teamed that mark with 13 digs for a double-double. Senior Erin Downey and freshman Ariana Covington each totaled nine kills, while Covington also contributed a team-best 16 digs to narrowly miss a double-double.

Sophomore setter Renee Horton had a strong performance on Saturday, posting eight kills on 11 attacks for a .545 hitting percentage. She also dished-out 42 assists as the Lions hit .215 as a team. LMU managed 10 total team blocks, including two block solos and 16 block assists.

Brittany Lowe paced the Santa Clara offense, hitting .233 with 16 kills, three assists and 14 digs. Anna Cmaylo posted 14 kills on 23 attacks for a .522 hitting percentage, while Nina Sevastopoulos amassed 11 kills and a block solo. Lindsy Davigeadono was very active at the net, leading the team with three block solos and two block assists as the Broncos posted eight total team blocks.

Lowe and Sevastopoulos each collected five kills in the opening set as Santa Clara took a 1-0 lead in the match score with the 25-21 set victory. The Broncos won the first four points of the match to force an early LMU timeout. Momentum continued to stay with LMU's ranked opponent as Santa Clara quickly found itself on top by six at 11-5. After a Sevastopoulos kill to run the tally to 13-9, LMU committed three straight attacking errors to fall behind 16-9. The Lions scratched back to within three points, forcing a timeout at 21-18. Santa Clara recovered well out of the break, posting four of the next seven points to take the set.

Both teams hit well in the second set, as Santa Clara hit .364 and LMU .341. Day collected a set-high seven kills in the period, but it proved not enough as the Broncos took a commanding two-set lead in the match. The two teams traded points at every step to 15-15 before the Broncos took a 17-15 advantage. Once again the two squads found themselves knotted at every point from 18 to 26 before a Day service error and a Covington attack error handed the Broncos the victory.

Day once again set the bar in terms of kills with eight in the third set as LMU took the period by a count of 25-19. Horton collected 12 of her 42 assists in the set as the Lions hit .350 (18-for-40). The Lions came out strong in the set, jumping out to an early 7-2 lead to force a Santa Clara timeout. Downey pushed LMU to the 15-point plateau at 15-8 before the Broncos cut the lead to 18-12 to force a Lion timeout. LMU took the set to its final point at 24-15, but had a little trouble putting the final point on the board. Santa Clara survived four set points before Day connected on a kill from Horton for the final tally.

Cmaylo and Lowe put the finishing touches on the match in the final set as they posted five and four kills, respectively. LMU managed to hit just .029 in the set as Santa Clara took the final frame by a count of 25-18. The Broncos took an early 8-3 lead before LMU battled back to even at 10-10 on back-to-back attack errors. Horton broke the tie with a service ace on the ensuing play, forcing a Santa Clara timeout. The break served its purpose as the Broncos quickly took a 22-15 advantage when Lowe held serve for five plays. The Lions posted the next two points in the set, but would only add one more tally after that mark, falling on a Kim Courtney kill.

LMU will return to action on Thursday when they visit WCC-foe Pepperdine at 7 p.m. in Malibu, Calif.