Aug. 29, 2008

Box Score

Albuquerque, N.M. -

LMU (1-0) defeated Idaho State (0-1), 3-1, in convincing fashion, 25-13, 23-25, 25-18, 25-20, on Friday afternoon in the Lions’ season-opener played at the University of New Mexico as part of the MCM Elegante Lobo Classic.

Senior Emily Day led all players in the match with 16 kills and three service aces, connecting at a .174 clip on 46 total attacks.  Day, who finished the 2007 season with 17 double-doubles, wasted no time notching her first in 2008, pairing the kill total with a team-best 15 digs.  Sophomore Megan Nash was virtually unstoppable in the match, posting a .500 attack percentage (11-for-22) and no attack errors.  Not to be outdone, sophomore Becky Stehling hit an impressive .435 (12-for-23), and freshman Ariana Covington contributed 11 kills in her first match for the Lions.

Sophomore Renee Horton, who garnered All-West Coast Conference honorable mention recognition last year, picked up right where she left off, serving-up a match-high tying 31 assists and guiding the offense to .316 (15-for-38) and .370 (13-for-27) hitting percentages in sets one and three, respectively.  While the Lions seemed to have the offense clicking, the defense was stellar as well.  LMU held Idaho State to sub-.100 hitting percentages in three of the four sets on the day, including a .023 (10-for-43) mark in the final set.  The Lions totaled 16 block assists and nine total blocks in the match, led by Nash’s eight block assists.

Emily Waldron paced the Bengal offense on the day, collecting 13 kills on 53 attacks.  Emily Beardmore also contributed double-digit kills, notching 12 and hitting a solid .478 (12-for-23).  Setter Blakely Peppinger posted a match-high tying 31 assists, while Paige Palmer recorded a match-best 21 digs.

Stehling recorded half of her 12 kills on the day in the first set, guiding the Lions to an easy 25-13 victory in the first set of the season.  Covington quickly made her presence felt at the collegiate level in her Lion debut, totaling five kills on 10 swings to help LMU to the win.  The Lions jumped out to an early 10-3 advantage on a Covington kill before advancing the lead to 15-8 on a Bengal attack error.  After a ball handling error on Peppinger to make it 17-11, a Covington kill and a Day service ace ran the total to 19-11.  With the score at 20-12, Stehling and Covington took control of the set, posting three and two kills, respectively to hand LMU the 1-0 advantage.

Idaho State bounced back after the lopsided first set, evening the tally at one set apiece headed into set number three.  Waldron and Beardmore each collected five kills in the period, as the Bengals hit .216 (16-for-37) en route to the 25-23 victory.  It was Day who came alive in set number two for the Lions, posting four kills and a service ace over the span.  Nash added a .750 hitting percentage (three-for-four), but the effort came up short as the two teams were knotted after two sets.

LMU once again hit the accelerator in set three, hitting .370 and benefiting from seven Day kills on 12 attacks en route to a 25-18 victory.  Nash once again was impressive, collecting three kills on six attacks and three block assists, while Horton dished-up eight assists in the set.  LMU trailed early in the set, falling behind by counts of 9-7 and 12-9 before evening the score at 13-13.  After a see-saw battle to 17-17, the Lions went on a four-point swing to take a 21-17 lead and force an Idaho State timeout.  The timeout proved to be a short-term solution, as the Bengals managed to post one final point before a Day kill and three consecutive attack errors handed LMU the third set and a 2-1 lead in the match score.

The Lions showed no mercy in the final set, holding the Bengals to a .023 hitting percentage and taking the match with a 25-20 victory.  Nash capped her outstanding performance over the course of the match with four kills on seven attacks for a blistering .571 hitting percentage.  Stehling also excelled in the set, adding four kills of her own on six attacks, while Horton posted 12 assists.  The Lions collected a slim 8-6 advantage early in the set before posting four unanswered points to take a 12-6 lead just short of halfway through the final period.  LMU extended the lead to 18-14, but Idaho State inched back to 19-17 on back-to-back Lion attack errors and a kill by Beardmore.  Just as the Bengals seemed to be gaining momentum, back-to-back attack errors of their own spelled the final turning of the tides for the Lions.  LMU would close the match strong, as Nash posted two kills and Covington notched one to push the tally to match point at 24-19.  Idaho State escaped the first match point on a Waldron kill, but the ninth Bengal attack error of the set proved costly, handing the Lions the victory on the very next play.

LMU will continue the MCM Elegante Lobo Classic on Saturday, squaring-off against Central Arkansas at 9:30 a.m. and host University of New Mexico at 6:30 p.m. to close play.  Both games can be viewed via Gametracker at the MCM Elegante Lobo Classic Tournament Central.