Nov. 20, 2008

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -

Complete Release in PDF Format

THIS WEEK...

BRIEFLY...
Coming off a road victory on Saturday in Portland, Ore., LMU (13-13, 3-9) will look to continue momentum when it returns home to host two ranked opponents to conclude West Coast Conference play.  The Lions will host No. 17 San Diego (20-4, 10-2) on Thursday before welcoming No. 25 San Francisco (20-6, 10-2) for “Senior Saturday”.  The Toreros and Dons enter the week tied for first place in the WCC.

FOLLOWWW THE LIONS...
It’s easy to follow the Lions throughout the 2008 season! Just log on to LMULions.com for all the latest Lion volleyball coverage.  All LMU home matches, and the majority of the matches on the road, will be broadcast live via Gametracker.  In addition, every Lion home match will also be broadcast online courtesy of the Lions Audio Network.  Just visit the Lion volleyball page at www.LMULions.com, click on schedule, and click on the link located on the right side of the schedule for that particular match.

DIG FOR THE CURE…
For the second consecutive year, LMU volleyball took part in the Dig for the Cure Breast Cancer campaign.  100% of the proceeds made during LMU’s match against Saint Mary’s on October 30 were donated to benefit the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.  At last count, the Lions donated a grand total of $3,198.50.

GAMEDAY AT GERSTEN…
Fans, come cheer on the Lions this year in Gersten Pavilion.  LMU will host 17 home matches this season (including three matches in Burns Recreation Center as part of the LMU Four Points Sheraton LAX/LMU Volleyball Classic).  When traveling to the venue, please remember that the Loyola Marymount University campus is located in Westchester at One LMU Drive, approximately four miles north of the Los Angeles International Airport.  Fans traveling to LMU must use the main entrance off of Lincoln Blvd. on LMU Drive.  Those seeking handicap parking must also use the main entrance, where they can get directions from the guard at the front gate.  Gersten’s doors open one hour before the start of the match.

TEAM LMU THIS WEEK…
Friday’s men’s basketball game against Notre Dame is this week’s “Team LMU” event.  “Team LMU” was created to generate awareness and excitement for LMU sporting events on game days.  Staff and students are encouraged to wear LMU gear on designated “Team LMU” days and to attend the games.

LION TRACKS…
The Lions are coming off a 1-1 week in WCC play in which they were beaten by Gonzaga on Thursday and defeated Portland on Saturday on the road.  The victory over Portland snapped LMU’s season-long six-match losing streak as they return home to complete the WCC schedule. LMU fell in a five-set heartbreaker to Gonzaga by scores of 25-23, 15-25, 18-25, 25-19, 17-15 on Thursday night.  The Lions survived three match points, and took a match-point lead of their own, before succumbing to the victory in the fifth set.  Senior Emily Day led all players with 18 kills on 49 attacks for a .204 hitting percentage.  She also notched 13 digs and two service aces to record a double-double.  Senior Erin Downey hit a stellar .538, amassing seven kills on 13 attacks, while freshman Ariana Covington posted 13 kills on 42 attacks with two service aces and seven digs.  Renee Horton ran the Lion offense, dishing-out 46 assists as LMU hit .238 on the match.  Covington followed her Thursday performance up by leading all players with a career-high 21 kills on 45 attacks for a .356 hitting percentage on Saturday.  Day carried the bulk of the remaining load, totaling 15 kills and 12 digs for a double-double.  In addition, the native of Torrance, Calif. posted a block solo and five block assists as the Lions totaled 11.5 total team blocks in the win.  Horton dished-out 46 assists as LMU hit .348 (61-for-138) as a team.

SENIORS IN THE SPOTLIGHT...
Saturday’s "Senior Day" match against No. 25 San Francisco will be the final home match at Gersten Pavilion for LMU's four senior players.  Lindsay Banas (San Pedro, Calif.), Emily Day (Torrance, Calif.), Erin Downey (San Jose, Calif.) and Lauren Kirk (Redondo Beach, Calif.) will all be honored prior to the match against the Dons on Saturday. The pre-game ceremony is slated to begin at 12:50 p.m., followed immediately by the start of the match at approximately 1:00 p.m.

TORERO TALK…
17th-ranked University of San Diego enters the week toting a 20-4 overall record, 10-2 in the WCC.  The Toreros sit in a tie for first place with No. 25 San Francisco after posting a 1-1 record last week.  San Diego dropped a 3-1 decision to Saint Mary’s on Thursday before bouncing back with a 3-0 win over Santa Clara on Saturday.  Amy DeGroot leads the offense, totaling 334 kills at a rate of 4.18 per set.  Her 23 service aces and 15 block solos also lead the squad, while she is second in digs with 199.  Ashton Basch is second on the team in kills with 203, followed by Ali Troost with 192.  Jessica Nyrop runs the Torero offense, dishing-out 868 assists as San Diego has hit .272 as a team.  Torey Ellick is the most active on the block, collecting 53 total stuffs on 12 solos and 41 assists.  Andrea Csaszi is the team’s leading libero, amassing 338 digs in 80 sets played so far this season.  Head coach Jennifer Petrie is in her 10th year at the helm of the program.

SCOUTING SAN FRANCISCO…
No. 25 San Francisco enters the week toting a 20-6 overall record, 10-2 in the WCC.  The Dons sit in a tie for first place with No. 17 San Diego after posting a 2-0 record last week.  San Francisco is coming off a sweep of then-No. 21 Santa Clara on Thursday and a 3-1 victory over Saint Mary’s on Saturday.  Sarah Mandala paces the offense, totaling 358 kills at a rate of 3.65 per set.  Carly Babin and Alix Gombos follow in second and third in terms of kills, notching 275 and 232, respectively.  Gombos leads the squad in hitting percentage, connecting at a .426 clip.  Darcy Carroll runs the offense from the setter position, passing-out 818 assists to guide USF to a .270 hitting percentage.  Haley Carroll is effective from the service area, amassing 38 aces on the season.  Carroll also leads the squad in digs with 446 at a rate of 4.55 per set.  Babin controls the net on defense, posting 106 total blocks on 21 solos and 85 assists for an average of 1.10 per set.  Head coach Gilad Doron is in his second year at the helm of the program.
 
“DAY”-LY DOUBLE…DOUBLE…
Senior Emily Day has collected 16 double-doubles entering this week of play.  In addition, she places second in the conference, and 24th in the nation, in kills with 398 at a rate of 4.19, and second in the WCC with 461.5 points at a rate of 4.86 per set.  Her 26 service aces at a .27 rate rank seventh, while her 273 digs at a rate of 2.87 digs per set rank eighth in the WCC.  In conference matches alone, Day is third in kills (182 total/3.96 per set) and points (211.5 total/4.60 per set).  Day is the team leader in attacks (1,091), kills (398), service aces (26) and digs (273), and is second in block solos (17) and total blocks (58).

SOPHOMORE SLUMP?…MORE LIKE SOPHOMORE SUCCESS…
Sophomore Becky Stehling is having another stellar campaign after turning in an impressive freshman season last year.  The native of Austin, Texas currently leads the team in attack percentage at .368, block solos with 21, block assists with 50 and total blocks with 71.  Her attack percentage places her 31st in the nation in that category, while also putting her fourth in the West Coast Conference.  In WCC matches alone, she ranks fourth in attack percentage with a .382 mark.

HOMETOWN GIRLS…
The Lions own a 184-67 overall record at home under Head Coach Steve Stratos over his 18+ years at the helm of the program, including an 8-5 mark at home this season.  So far this year, LMU has hit .260 (649-219/1654) at home compared to .210 (569-235/1594) on the road and at neutral sites.  LMU is 5-8 in matches away from LMU.  The Lions’ kill leader, Emily Day, also shows the same pattern of success at home.  She has totaled 211 kills at a .232 pace in home matches while amassing 187 kills and a hitting percentage of .180 in all other matches.  Looking solely at road matches and ignoring neutral matches, LMU is 1-8 on the road.  The Lions have hit .196 (360-156/1041) over that span, as their opponents have managed a .276 mark.

LMU RECORD BOOKS…
Three Lions have already cemented their names in the LMU record books as the Lions have four more matches to play in 2008.  Senior Emily Day currently ranks fourth in total attacks (3,959), fifth in kills (1,435), sixth in kill average at 3.55, seventh in digs (1,128), ninth in sets played (404) and 10th in dig average (2.79) and service aces (114).  She sits just four solo blocks from the top-10, and one set played, one dig, one service ace and 11 kills from the next closest spot in the All-Time books.  Sophomore Renee Horton already ranks eighth in assists in a single season, totaling 1,318 last year.  Combined with this year’s numbers, Horton has totaled 2,193 assists in less than two years of play, ranking sixth in the LMU record books in that category.  The native of Wildomar, Calif. is also a lock to enter the career assists average top-10 list at the end of the season.  Like Horton, fellow sophomore Whitney Leonard already pervades the single-season record books after one year at LMU, claiming second in dig average (4.53) and sixth in total digs (426).  On the career records side, she is in prime position to place in the top-10 for dig average at the end of the season.

DAY GETS IT DONE IN THE CLASSROOM…
Senior Emily Day was voted to the CoSIDA Academic All-District VIII Team, it was announced on November 6.  Day, a native of Torrance, Calif., was a third team selection, marking the second consecutive year that the Lions have posted a player on the All-District VIII team (Heather Hughes-third team).  The selection is Day’s first of her career after posting a 3.54 grade point average as a mathematics major.  Day is no stranger to academic recognition, having been named to the West Coast Conference All-Academic team in each of the previous two seasons.  Nominations and voting for the CoSIDA Academic All-District Teams is conducted by members of the College Sports Information Directors of America.  District VIII consists of schools located in California, Hawaii, Arizona, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington.

STEHLING’S SPECTACULAR WEEK…
Sophomore middle blocker Becky Stehling played a large role in leading the Lions to their 2-0 week from October 13 to 19.  Stehling played in all seven sets, starting both matches for the Lions, hitting a team-best .561 over the span with 23 kills and no errors on 41 attacks.  In addition, she amassed a team-high tying two service aces, two block solos, seven digs and five total blocks on the week.  She averaged 3.29 kills per set, 0.29 aces per set, 1.00 dig per set and 0.71 blocks per set in the two matches.  On Thursday versus Portland, she tallied 10 kills on 17 attacks for a .588 hitting percentage, one assist, two service aces and three total blocks (a block solo and two block assists).  In Saturday’s match against Gonzaga, Stehling hit .542 (13-for-24) with four digs, a block solo and a block assist.  Her 13 kills against the Bulldogs matched her career high, marking the third time she has totaled that many this season.

DIGGING HER WAY TO HISTORY…
Emily Day recorded her 1,000th career dig in the first set of the loss to Santa Clara on October 2.  Day collected her 1,000th career kill against Saint Mary’s on November 17, 2007, and with the dig, she joined Kim Blankinship (1993-96), Deanna Doolittle (1990-93), Heather Hughes (2004-07), Kealani Kimball (2000-03), Christianna Reneau (2005-07) and Leslie Wohlford (1985-88) in the elite 1,000 kills/1,000 digs club.  She is just the ninth player in LMU history to collect 1,000 career digs.

DAY NAMED WCC PLAYER OF THE WEEK…
Senior Emily Day was named WCC Player of the Week for her efforts in LMU's only match over the week of September 22-28, a sweep of Cal State Bakersfield on September 26 in Gersten Pavilion.  Day, who has been named WCC Player of the Week four times in her career, received the accolade much earlier this season than in the past.  The native of Torrance, Calif. had been awarded the honor in November of each of her previous three seasons.  Day became the first Lion honored by the WCC this season after guiding LMU to an impressive victory over the Roadrunners.  She played in all three sets for the Lions on the week, collecting a match-best 17 kills at a match-high, and career-best, .680 clip (17-0/25).  Day also posted an assist, a match-high three service aces, a block solo, a block assist and six digs.  Overall, she averaged one service ace, two digs and .67 blocks per set in the match against Bakersfield, and on the week, for LMU.

FOUR POINT SHERATON FOURSOME…
Seniors Emily Day and Erin Downey, along with sophomore Renee Horton and freshman Diana Hiromoto were each named to the 2008 Four Points Sheraton LAX/LMU Volleyball Classic All-Tournament team following the two-day event.  In addition, Day was named Tournament MVP for her outstanding effort in guiding LMU to the Tournament Championship.  LMU swept Pittsburgh and UC Irvine, while defeating San Jose State 3-1 on Saturday afternoon.  Over the course of the three matches, Day collected 43 kills on 111 attacks for a .270 attack percentage.  The native of Torrance, Calif. tallied seven service aces and 27 digs, while posting two double-doubles and averaging 4.30 kills per set and 2.70 digs per set.  Downey managed 20 kills and hit .405 (20-for-42) while totaling seven blocks (two block solos and five block assists).  Horton dished-out 90 assists and collected 20 digs, while Hiromoto served-up seven aces, including four in the opening match of the tournament on Friday, and posted 33 digs.

LOBO CLASSIC TRIFECTA…
Senior Emily Day and sophomores Megan Nash and Becky Stehling were named to the 2008 MCM Elegante Lobo Classic All-Tournament team after leading the Lions to a runner-up finish at the two-day event.  Day, who like Nash and Stehling, started all three matches for LMU on the weekend, finished the tournament with 41 kills, two assists, four service aces and 37 digs.  As always, Day was active at the net, posting a block solo in each of the three matches, seven total block assists and 10 total blocks.  As expected, Day was a go-to player from the start, averaging 4.10 kills per set during the tournament.  Nash found time in all 10 sets for the Lions over the weekend, posting 18 kills at a .362 clip (18-for-47) and making only one attack error.  In addition, the Manhattan Beach, Calif. native dished-up two assists and collected 10 digs.  Playing an essential role in the Lions’ defense at the net, she tallied one block solo, 12 block assists, including eight against Idaho State on Friday, for a total of 13 blocks on the tournament.  Stehling also played in all 10 sets for the Lions, collecting 28 kills at a .356 clip (28-7/59).  The native of Austin, Texas also posted five block assists, including four in the Championship Match against New Mexico.  Stehling posted 12 of her 28 kills in the opening match on Friday, connecting at a .435 clip (12-2/23).  She proceeded to hit .350 on Saturday morning, tallying 10 kills on 20 attacks and committing three errors.

THE STATS ON STRAT...
Steve Stratos completed his 18th season at the helm of the program with an 18th straight winning year in 2007.  In his tenure at LMU, Stratos has led the Lions to nine 20-win seasons and 11 postseason appearances.  He has posted a career record of 372-191, the most victories in LMU volleyball history and second-most among current WCC coaches.  His .669 winning percentage entering the 2008 season placed him in the top-50 (46th) among active Division I coaches.  In conference play, he owns a record of 173-91, for a .655 winning percentage.  With 173 career conference victories, Stratos again ranks second among active coaches in the WCC.