Aug. 29, 2009

Box Score

FORT WORTH, Texas - LMU (3-0) defeated host Texas Christian University (2-1) in four sets to claim the TCU Invitational Tournament Championship on Saturday night, 25-18, 25-23, 16-25, 25-16. Following the match, freshman Alaina Bergsma was named Tournament MVP, while sophomores Alesha Young and Ariana Covington were named to the All-Tournament team.

Bergsma led all hitters with 15 kills on the night, attacking at a .205 clip (15-6/44). She added two service aces and 10 digs for a double-double. Young, who handled the majority of the setting duties during the match, posted 37 assists, a service ace, seven digs and a block assist. Becky Stehling once again contributed out of the middle offensively, notching nine kills and a .200 hitting percentage. Libero Lauren DeGrandmont paced all players with 20 digs, also adding a pair of service aces as the Lions finished with 10 on the night.

Irene Hester led the Horned Frog offense, collecting 14 kills, followed by Kourtney Edwards with 11. Megan Munce served as the setter throughout the match, dishing-out 32 assists and adding 16 digs for a double-double.

The Lions came out swinging in set one, opening-up an early 4-1 advantage, highlighted by kills from Young and Felicia Arriola and a service ace from Bergsma. LMU advanced the lead to 8-2 on a net violation and a block from Covington and Stehling. After a fine defensive save on the TCU side of the net, Covington took a quick set and found the floor to push the tally to 9-2 and force the first TCU timeout. The two teams traded blows to 15-8 as Covington notched her third kill of the set. Covington finished the set with four kills on five attacks with no errors for a blistering .800 hitting percentage. A pair of points, including a block solo from Kristen Hester, seemed to spark momentum TCU's direction as they cut the deficit to 15-11 before Stehling contributed a kill to stop the run. The Horned Frogs quickly got back to the task at hand, recording another solid block that resulted in the first Lion timeout of the tournament at 16-13. TCU finished the period with five team blocks. The breather proved beneficial for the crimson and navy as it won the next two points to take an 18-13 lead out of the break. The Horned Frogs won a well-fought point on the ensuing play, but committed one of four service errors on the set to hand the point right back to the Lions at 19-14. Bergsma and the Lions continued to push their way to the goal of a set-one victory, as the Chandler, Ariz. native found her way through the block and to the floor for points 20 and 21. Megan Nash contributed the 23rd point and gave LMU a six-point advantage at 23-17 on a kill just in front of the back row defenders, forcing the final TCU timeout. Bergsma sent the period to its final tally with her second service ace before a TCU service error handed LMU the 25-18 set victory. Young, who had two kills in her own right, helped the Lions to a .270 hitting percentage while dishing-out 13 assists.

The two teams battled to a 4-4 stalemate early in set two before LMU won the next four points, capped by a service ace from Lauren DeGrandmont, to take an 8-4 lead. TCU answered back nicely to even the match at 10 apiece, highlighted by service aces from Lauren Otto and Katelyn Blackwood. LMU sensed the shift in momentum and quickly regained composure, posting four unanswered points, including three straight kills from Bergsma, to earn a 14-10 lead. Another dump from setter Young pushed the Lions to the 15-point threshold at 15-12, but the seesaw battle continued as the deficit was diminished to one on a kill from Christy Hudson and a block from Hudson and Edwards. Jasmine Rankins, who finished the set with three kills, contributed in a big way down the stretch, handing LMU points 19 and 20 with a kill and a block on back-to-back plays. The Lions continued to hold a slim advantage at 22-21 before another TCU service error handed LMU a free point and resulted in a Horned Frog timeout. Just two points from victory, the Lions came out of the huddle determined to go ahead by two sets in the match score. Nash clashed with an opposing middle blocker on a free ball just above the net on the ensuing play, muscling it to the corner for a kill and the 24th Lion point. Trying to slow momentum, TCU successfully used its final timeout, as the Horned Frogs staved off two set-points to run the tally to 24-23 and force a Lion timeout. LMU emerged poised after the break, getting the ball to Bergsma on the outside, who pounded the set to the floor to seal the 25-23 victory. Bergsma led all players in the set with six kills, hitting .357 with only one error in 14 attacks. Perhaps slipping slightly under the radar was Young, who finished the period with three kills and 11 assists, helping LMU to a .343 hitting percentage (15-3/35).

The Lions came out flat in the third set, committing an attacking error and allowing an errant pass to fall to the floor, en route to trailing 4-0 and burning a timeout. TCU made the most of the mistakes and continued to push the throttle, advancing the lead to 6-1 after the break. The struggles continued for LMU in the third as a service ace from Blackwood ran the tally to 10-3. Now leading 12-3 after recording five unanswered points, TCU forced the final Lion timeout of the set. Rankins stopped the bleeding with a cross-court kill at 14-4, ending what was a seven-point run for the Horned Frogs. The Lion slowly closed the gap to 15-9, benefitting from service aces from Arriola and Katie Lawler. Kills by Nash and Rankins and an attack error made things interesting, pushing the score to 19-14 and resulting in a Horned Frog timeout. The breather proved effective as TCU ran the set to its final point at 24-16 before recording a block by Irene and Kristen Hester to win 25-16. Edwards led the way in the set for TCU, recording three kills and a .500 hitting percentage.

LMU earned an early 3-1 lead in the fourth en route to a 5-2 mark on one of Arriola's four kills in the set. That small lead quickly diminished as kills from Irene Hester and Edwards cut the lead to 7-6 en route to ties at eight and nine points. Benefitting from three straight kills from Bergsma, Arriola and Nash, LMU opened-up a 13-9 lead with a four-point swing, capped by a solo block from Arriola to force a TCU timeout. The Lions lost very little momentum out of the break, advancing the lead to 15-9 on kills from Young and Arriola. LMU continued to put pressure on the Horned Frogs as DeGrandmont recorded her second service ace of the night. After earning a 17-12 lead, LMU went on a four-point run, taking a 21-12 lead late in the third set, highlighted by a pair of Hiromoto service aces to cap the string. Bergsma finished a lengthy 23rd point for the Lions, spiking a ball off the block and out of bounds, before an attack error handed LMU match-point at 24-16. Young dropped back to serve on the ensuing play, recording LMU's 10th and final ace of the night for the Tournament Championship.

The Lions return to action next weekend when they travel to Las Vegas, Nev. for the UNLV Tournament.