Sept. 12, 2009

Box Score

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - LMU (6-2) recorded its second win at the 2009 Crowne Plaza LAX Volleyball Tournament on Saturday, defeating Boise State (0-8) in four sets, 22-25, 25-18, 25-15, 25-21, to earn a spot in the Tournament Championship against No. 20 UC Irvine tonight.

Freshman Alaina Bergsma paced the Lion offense with a match-best 20 kills on 49 attacks. The native of Chandler, Ariz. earned a double-double by teaming that mark with 11 digs, while also posting four block solos, a block assist and a service ace. Ariana Covington also notched a double-double, teaming 14 kills with 12 digs. Rounding-out a trio of Lions with double-digit kills was freshman Kenna Crouse, finishing with 13 kills and a .286 hitting percentage. Sophomore Alesha Young dished-out 40 assists as the Lions hit .231 as a team. She also managed a double-double, posting 14 digs to accompany the assists.

Alisha King led Boise State's offense with 14 kills on 49 swings. Liz Harden contributed 10 of her own, while Breann Nesselhuf passed-out 30 assists to guide Boise State to a .141 team hitting percentage. The Broncos did fairly well on the block, totaling 10 to LMU's nine, led by Sadie Maughan with three block solos and five block assists.

The Lions came out a little slow on Saturday afternoon, committing 11 attack errors in the first set en route to a .102 hitting percentage. Crouse led the way offensively for LMU with five kills, as Jasmine Rankins and Bergsma each contributed three in their own right. King led all players in the set, totaling six kills on 16 attacks for the Broncos as they earned the 25-22 set victory. The two teams played a pretty even set throughout, with neither team able to run away with an advantage. Set one saw eight tie scores and four lead changes, including a knot at 13 and 15 points. Boise State managed to grab a small lead at 19-17 before LMU scratched back to even at 19 and then again at 21. Unfortunately for the Lions, Boise State would win four of the next five points en route to the win.

The Lions took the second set despite hitting just .061 as a team. The benefit came from Boise State's .026 mark on the other side of the net. Bergsma picked up her offensive output, notching six kills on just 13 attacks. The Lions trailed early in the set, falling behind 7-3 before eventually taking a 17-16 lead on a Bergsma kill. LMU advanced the deficit to 21-17 on a Bronco service error. After both teams traded attacking errors, LMU pushed the set to its final point on back-to-back kills from Bergsma and Covington. One final attack error charged to Boise State spelled the end of the set and handed LMU the win.

LMU came out blistering in the third set, hitting .594 as a team, highlighted by six kills from Bergsma on nine attacks. Covington contributed four of her own, while Crouse tallied three along the way. LMU ran away with the set from the beginning, opening-up a 12-1 lead. The Lions cruised from there, reaching the 20-point plateau at 20-10 en route to the 25-15 victory.

The Lions sealed the victory with a 25-21 set-four win. Crouse, Covington and Bergsma led the way with five kills apiece for the Lions, as the team hit .238 in the period. Liz Harden and King had four kills for Boise State, but it was not enough in the loss. LMU and Boise State once again played close in the set, as Boise State led virtually the entire first half of the set and the Lions took the lead in the second. The set saw just one tie score and one lead change, occurring at 16 points as the Lions pulled ahead 17-16 on a Crouse kill. LMU did not look back from there, advancing the lead to 20-16 on another swing from Crouse. Boise State battled back to one point down by winning the next three points to 20-19, forcing a Lion timeout. The Lions posted three of the next four points out of the break, including two kills from Bergsma, to force a Bronco timeout. The timeout did little to slow momentum as LMU put the match away on Crouse's final kill.

The Lions will play for the 2009 Crowne Plaza LAX Volleyball Championship at 7:30 p.m. tonight against No. 20 UC Irvine.