Sept. 17, 2008

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -

Complete Release in PDF Format

THIS WEEK...

BRIEFLY...
Winners of four straight contests, all of which have come at home, LMU will remain in the friendly confines of Gersten Pavilion as it welcomes UC Riverside and Arizona for an impromptu weekend tournament on Friday and Saturday.  Complications from Hurricane Ike forced the cancellation of LMU’s regularly-scheduled tournament in Houston, Texas. The Highlanders and Wildcats will get things started on Friday at 12 p.m. before LMU takes the court against UCR at 7 p.m.  The condensed tournament comes to an end on Saturday, with the third and final match of the weekend, as Arizona and LMU square-off at 7 p.m.

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.

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…
Tuesday’s volleyball match against UC Santa Barbara was the first of three “Team LMU” days around the Westchester campus for volleyball this season.  “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 3-1 victory over UC Santa Barbara on Tuesday of this week and a 3-1 weekend in which they won the 2008 Four Points Sheraton LAX/LMU Volleyball Classic on Friday and Saturday with victories over Pittsburgh, San Jose State and UC Irvine.  LMU extended its winning streak to four consecutive matches with the victory over the Gauchos.  The Lions hit well on the night, but it was their defense in sets one, three and four that spelled doom for UCSB.  LMU held the Gauchos to .034 (6-5/29), .083 (12-9/36) and -.025 (9-10/40) hitting percentages over those three sets, respectively.  As she has done all season for LMU, senior Emily Day led the Lion offense with a match-best 20 kills on 50 attacks for a .260 hitting percentage.  The native of Torrance, Calif. also totaled two assists, three block assists and 15 digs to notch her eighth double-double of the season, tops in the West Coast Conference.  Fellow senior Erin Downey also carried weight offensively and defensively, collecting a season-high 11 kills at a .588 clip (11-1/17) and totaling a career-best 10 block assists for a double-double.  The Lions as a team collected 26 block assists, while committing only one block error.  Freshman Diana Hiromoto continued to shine from the service line, serving-up four more aces to run her season total to 11 in just four matches played.  The native of Honolulu, Hawai'i is now averaging .79 aces per set.  Prior the win on Tuesday, LMU opened tournament play with a sweep of Pittsburgh on Friday night.  Day led LMU on offense with 11 kills in 38 attempts for a .079 hitting percentage. Downey was more efficient (6-for-11) for a hitting percentage of .455 in posting the second-highest number of kills on the team.  In its toughest competition of the tournament, LMU squared-off against San Jose State on Saturday afternoon, claiming a 3-1 victory in the match.  Day once again guided the Lions to the win with a double-double of 19 kills and 14 digs.  Becky Stehling and Ariana Covington also posted double-digit kills, with 13 apiece.  Stehling and Day were extremely efficient, with hitting percentages of .440 and .436, respectively.  LMU swept UC Irvine by scores of 25-21, 25-19 and 25-19 to win the tournament on Saturday night.  Day collected a match-high tying 13 kills on 34 attacks, while Downey finished eight-for-16 (.500) to claim a share of the second-best kill mark for LMU, tying with sophomore Stehling and freshman Covington.  After winning the tournament, four Lions were named to the All-Tournament Team, including Day, who took home the tournament’s Most Valuable Player award.  Fellow senior Downey, sophomore Renee Horton and freshman Hiromoto were also lauded.

RIVERSIDE RANTS…
UC Riverside enters the weekend toting a 5-8 overall record after being swept in each of its last six decisions.  The Highlanders have most recently dropped matches against San Diego, Portland, Idaho and Portland State.  Kelly Fink leads the team on offense, totaling 168 kills at a rate of 3.82 per set.  Dominique Cowling places second in kills with 90, followed by Kelly Simpson with 64.  Brittney Murrey serves as the primary setter for UCR, dishing-out 391 assists over the first 13 matches of the season.  Murrey also paces the team in service aces with nine.  Angela Pizzella is a force at the net defensively, posting 44 total blocks on 14 block solos and 30 block assists.  Fink and Tonbara Youpele each own 108 digs this year to lead the team in that category.  Head coach Sue Gozansky is in her 38th season at the helm of the program.

TAMING THE WILDCATS…
Arizona, which has received votes in the 2008 CBS College Sports Network/AVCA Top-25 Poll in each week this year, enters the weekend with an 8-1 overall record after winning each of its last four matches.  The Wildcats knocked-off Cal State Bakersfield, Fresno State and Chicago State last weekend in Bakersfield, Calif.  Arizona earned sweeps of Bakersfield and Chicago State, while taking a four-set victory over Fresno State on Saturday.  Seven of Arizona’s eight wins have come by way of sweep, while its only loss was to Santa Clara on September 5.  The Wildcats provide a very balanced attack, as five players tote 40 or more kills on the year.  Whitney Dosty leads the team with 87, followed by Tiffany Owens (65) and Stephanie Snow (53).  Paige Weber sets the offense for Arizona, posting 314 assists on the year.  Weber is also the team-leader in service aces with 13.  Alanna Resch paces the pack in digs with 85, while Jacy Norton and Snow lead the squad with 30 total blocks apiece.  Lion Whitney Leonard will also have a chance to take-on her sister, Brittany, as the latter wears number five for Arizona as a libero.  Head coach David Rubio is in his 17th season at the helm of the program.

WEST COAST CONFERENCE CHATTER…
Amy DeGroot led No. 17 San Diego to the tournament title of the USD Tournament this past weekend en route to being named WCC Player of the Week and Tournament MVP.  DeGroot averaged 4.22 kills per set, 2.22 digs per set and 1.33 blocks per set over the span.  Along with USD, Loyola Marymount and No. 21 Pepperdine also took home Tournament Championships over the weekend.  The WCC as a whole combined to win 10 of its 14 matches on Saturday.  Pepperdine finished the week with a 3-0 record after sweeping UC Davis, Nevada and Missouri to stay atop the WCC.  Just as Pepperdine did, USD also completed the weekend without losing a set, sweeping Cal State Fullerton on Friday before recording sweeps of Texas A&M and Southern Mississippi on Saturday.  Saint Mary’s was swept in its first two matches on the week, falling to Hawai’i and Washington.  The Gaels battled back on Saturday, defeating Pacific 3-1, at the Rainbow Wahine Invitational in Honolulu, Hawai’i.  Santa Clara took down UC Santa Barbara in four sets on Thursday before sweeping New Mexico State on Friday.  The Broncos then squared-off against perennial powerhouse Stanford and were swept on Saturday.  San Francisco recorded a 2-1 record on the weekend, earning victories over Sacramento State and Villanova, but falling to Miami in five sets.  Gonzaga also recorded two wins, beating UTEP and San Diego State, while losing to Weber State, 3-1.  Portland split four matches last week, earning victories over Seattle University and UC Riverside.  The Pilots also fell to Portland State in five sets and were swept by Oregon State.

BRING IN THE “DH”…
Freshman Diana Hiromoto has proved to be a valuable player off the Lion bench over the last four matches.  Despite not playing in any of the matches prior to last weekend’s tournament, Hiromoto ranks second in service aces with 11 at a .79 aces per set average entering the weekend tournament.  She also owns 38 digs at a rate of 2.71 per set.  The native of Honolulu, Hawai’i collected a season and career-best four service aces against Pittsburgh on Friday night.  She also contributed a career-high 16 digs in the sweep of the Panthers.  Hiromoto followed that performance with three more service aces, nine digs and her lone kill this season on Saturday against San Jose State.  Most recently, Hiromoto matched her career-best performance with four aces against UC Santa Barbara on Sept. 16.

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.

LMU RECORD BOOKS…
Three Lions have already cemented their names in the LMU record books as the Lions continue to play in 2008.  Senior Emily Day currently ranks sixth in total attacks (3,335), seventh in kill average at 3.47, eighth in kills (1,208), and 10th in digs (976) and dig average (2.80).  She sits just one dig out of the ninth position in the All-Time books, 13 kills away from seventh, and 66 kills from sixth.  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 1,640 assists in less than two years of play, ranking seventh 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.

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 367-181, 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 170-82, for a .675 winning percentage.  With 170 career conference victories, Stratos again ranks second among active coaches in the WCC.