Nov. 19, 2009

Box Score

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - LMU (12-15, 3-10) suffered a three-set sweep at the hands of San Francisco (13-13, 7-6) on Thursday night on the road in West Coast Conference play. The Lions dropped the three sets by scores of 25-15, 25-22 and 25-22.

Sophomore Ariana Covington led all players in the match with 16 kills on 38 swings for a .263 hitting percentage. Unfortunately for LMU, Covington's 16 were not enough, as no other Lion recorded more than four kills in the three sets. Freshman Nikki Lane dished-out 28 assists and served-up an ace for LMU as the Lions hit just .114 as a team. Junior Megan Nash led the Lions with 10 digs and two service aces, teaming those stats with four kills. Both teams collected seven total blocks, as LMU was led by Nash's two block solos and three block assists.

Sarah Mandala paced USF offensively with 11 kills on 33 attacks. Anna Berger and Erin Kilroy each added seven kills apiece in the victory, while Leanna Ludes and Alaina Sully passed-out 14 and 13 assists, respectively, to help USF to a .219 team hitting percentage.

After scoring the first point of the match, the Lions trailed the rest of the way in set one en route to a 25-15 setback. Covington had five kills, but LMU managed just eight as a team in the period, finishing with a combined -.033 hitting percentage. Kilroy contributed three kills for USF, accompanied by two from Mandala, Hadley Simmons, Berger and Erin Bragg. LMU trailed by just one point at 7-6 early before allowing four straight for USF as the Dons took an 11-6 advantage. A three-point run from 16-13 to 19-13 set the table for the win as USF then managed to score each of the last four points in the period.

Set two saw the Lions hit .205 as a team, led by Covington's four kills and two each from Kenna Crouse, Nash, Emily Cheek and Becky Stehling. Despite the increase in offense, five kills from Mandala and four from Berger proved too much for LMU in the set. A Berger kill was the first point of the set, and USF never trailed from there. Holding a 9-4 lead early, the Dons stretched the advantage to 16-10 before the Lions started to make things a bit interesting. Battling to within two points at 21-19 on back-to-back USF attack errors, LMU forced a San Francisco timeout late. LMU continued to trail by just two points to 23-21 before USF forced set-point at 24-21. LMU spoiled the first attempt at a victory on a Stehling kill before Alycia Cox found the floor on the ensuing play to secure the win.

Continuing to control the match, USF once again led the entire way in the third set en route to the sweep. Covington continued her stellar match for LMU, collecting a set-best seven kills in the final frame. Crouse was the only other Lion with more than one kill, posting two on four attacks. USF utilized four kills each from Mandala and Kilroy in the win. One bright spot of the set for the Lions were their three service aces, contributed by Nash, Lane and Diana Hiromoto. Once again, USF opened-up a significant lead early at 9-3 en route to the victory. LMU crawled back within three at 13-10 on a Nash kill before a swing by Kilroy and a Lion attack error allowed the Dons to run to 18-13 a few points later. Leading by just three points once again at 21-18, USF watched the Lions inch to within two at 23-21 late in the set to force a San Francisco timeout. After Mandala sent the match to match-point at 24-21 out of the break, LMU managed to spoil the first match-point attempt with a Covington kill. The sophomore from Carlsbad, Calif. then dropped back to serve, where she promptly served-up an error, resulting in the sweep for USF.

LMU returns to action on Saturday at 1 p.m. when it continues its Northern California swing and completes WCC play at Santa Clara.