Oct. 3, 2009

Box Score

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - LMU (9-7, 0-2) hit just .143 as a team and allowed a .360 hitting percentage on the other side of the net from Saint Mary's (10-3, 2-0) en route to being swept, 25-21, 25-11, 32-30, on Saturday afternoon in West Coast Conference play at Gersten Pavilion. The Lions finished the match strong by erasing a 24-20 match-set deficit, but they were unable to fully complete the comeback. LMU has now lost four straight matches.

Freshman Alaina Bergsma once again chipped-in double-digit kills for LMU, notching a match-high 16 on 50 attacks during the loss. The native of Chandler, Ariz. narrowly missed a double-double in the three-set affair, collecting seven digs to accompany three block solos. As it did in the match against No. 20 San Diego on Thursday, LMU started freshman Olivia Bailey at setter and sophomore Alesha Young, who began the year as LMU's starting setter, at the libero position. Bailey dished-out a match-high 24 assists and recorded 10 digs for a double-double, while Young had five assists and eight digs.

Saint Mary's, which hit .481 in the first set and .548 in the second, was paced by Chanteal Satele with 13 kills on 25 attacks for a .440 hitting percentage. Lauren Corp chipped-in 10 kills of her own to help guide Saint Mary's to the win. Splitting time as the setter, Kapua Kamana'o and Missy White passed-out 23 and 17 assists, respectively. Not only getting it done on the attack, the Gaels also served up six aces and recorded five total team blocks, including four block assists from Burton.

The Lions never led in set one of the match, drawing even with the Gaels on just two occasions, at 1-1 and 2-2. After trading those early blows, Saint Mary's opened-up a small 10-6 lead on a Satele kill. The Gaels advanced the tally to 13-8 on back-to-back Lion attack errors, forcing LMU's first timeout. The lead stretched to seven points at 16-9 as LMU once again erred on the attack. Two kills apiece from Bergmas and Bailey made things interesting late in the set, as LMU managed to claw its way back to within three at 21-18, forcing a Gael timeout. Unfortunately for the Lions, the break would prevent any further push, as Saint Mary's broke huddle and eventually claimed the 25-21 set victory on a Satele kill.

The Gaels showed no mercy in set two, earning a 25-11 victory in the period. The visitors hit an unbelievable .548 as a team, holding LMU to just a .114 mark on the other side. The Gael attack was led by Satele and Corp, who finished with seven and six kills, in that order. The set looked close to begin with, as LMU and Saint Mary's traded blows to 5-5. Now trailing 7-6 after a Corp service error, things went sour for the Lions. The Gaels proceeded to rattle-off seven unanswered points with Alita Fisher in the service area. Over that span, Satele had five kills, guiding the Gaels to the 14-6 advantage. Back-to-back kills from Felicia Arriola and Bergsma momentarily pushed momentum toward LMU, but it would not stay for long, as Saint Mary's again strung together an impressive run. This time it was six unanswered points, highlighted by a pair of kills from Corp, to push the tally to 21-9. The Gaels cruised to the lopsided victory from there, fittingly capped by back-to-back kills from Satele and Corp.

Although set three looked to be headed exactly where the first two went early, LMU fought hard late in the period to make things very exciting. Bergsma proved that she was not going to let the Gaels trot into Gersten Pavilion and walk out with an easy victory, as she notched nine of her 16 kills in the final frame. Neither team hit well in the third, as Saint Mary's barely out-hit LMU, .189 to .105. The two teams battled their way to a fairly even set to about the halfway point, as SMC held a one-point advantage at 15-14. As they did in the previous set, the Gaels caught fire from there, posting six unanswered points, including four on Lion attack errors, to claim a comfortable 21-14 advantage. Refusing to surrender easily, LMU fought back to within two at 21-19, stringing together kills from Jasmine Rankins, Stehing, and two from Bergsma to force a timeout. Saint Mary's seemed to have regained its composure after the pause, advancing the match to its final point at 24-20 on a Megan York kill. After a White service error gave LMU another life, the Lions mounted a comeback that featured two Bergsma kills and a Saint Mary's attack error to run the tally even at 24. Two more Bergsma swings gave the Lions set-point opportunities at 25-24 and 26-25, but LMU was unable to record that final scratch. Saint Mary's also had its fair-share of chances at the win, claiming leads of 27-26 and 28-27. After playing to ties at 28, 29 and 30, the Lions handed Saint Mary's its final match-point chance on an attack error. The Gaels finally put the marathon set to rest as Fisher served up an ace that fell just out of the reach of the Lion defense, resulting in the Saint Mary's sweep.

The Lions return to action on October 8 as West Coast Conference play continues at the University of Portland.