Sept. 19, 2009

Box Score

STOCKTON, Calif. - LMU (9-4) was swept in the Tournament Championship by host Pacific (10-1) on Saturday night as part of the 2009 Hilton Stockton Invitational. The Lions fell 25-17, 25-22, 29-29, in the close match, including taking the third set to its final point before the Tigers completed the comeback. Freshman Alaina Bergsma and sophomore Alesha Young garnered All-Tournament honors after the match.

Mallori Gibson, who was named the Tournament MVP after the match, led the Pacific attack in the match, posting 15 kills on 31 attacks for a .419 hitting percentage. Svenja Engelhardt also notched 15 kills, hitting .310 on 29 attacks. Olivia Riley set the Tiger offense, passing-out 42 assists to help Pacific to a .376 overall hitting percentage. Pacific posted six team blocks, highlighted by Natalia Tomaszewska's one block solo and three block assists.

The Lion offense was paced by Bergsma, who connected for a match-best 18 kills on 38 attacks for a .395 hitting percentage. Bergsma also posted five digs, a block solo and a block assist. Young dished-out 23 assists as LMU hit .272 as a team, the highest mark coming in the second set at .344.

Set one saw Pacific take a 1-0 lead in the match score as it won 25-17. Gibson paved the way with five kills on eight attacks, while also notching two of her three match service aces. Tomaszewska followed with four kills, a block solo and a block assist to aid in the win. The Tigers managed to hit .360 while holding LMU to just a .154 mark on the other side of the net. Pacific opened-up a 10-5 advantage early in the set before LMU crawled back to within one point at 15-14 on a Young kill. Unfortunately for the Lions, the momentum swing would stop there as Pacific scored 10 of the next 13 points to take the set.

Bergsma picked up her pace in the second set, collecting six kills on 11 attacks, but it was not enough as Pacific took a 2-0 match lead. Engelhardt matched Bergsma's output in the set, connecting for six kills of her own to help edge the Lions. Gibson pitched-in four kills and her third ace, while Rebekah Torres and Masha Vaysburg each had three kills. The two teams played to a 12-12 tie early before advancing the close battle to 17-17 and then 20-20 on a Pacific attack error. A kill and a Lion attack error put the Tigers up by two at 22-20, forcing a Lion timeout. The break did little to slow the direction as Pacific took the set to its final point on a Gibson kill, preceding a LMU attack error to close the set.

LMU nearly took the third set from the Tigers, earning a set point chance at 24-23, but Pacific fought back, evening the tally and eventually taking the 29-27 victory. Engelhardt took it upon herself to guide Pacific to the victory, notching eight of her 15 kills in the third set alone. Gibson further helped the Tigers in the set, notching six kills on 14 swings and adding two block assists. Bergsma gave a valiant effort in the loss, posting nine kills, a block solo and a block assist. LMU was the first team to reach 15 points for the second consecutive set, earning a 15-11 lead. After Pacific answered to run the tally to 15-14, the two teams continued to trade blows to 20-18, as LMU never relinquished the lead to that point. Clinging to the slim cushion, LMU saw the deficit erased at 23-23, highlighted by back-to-back kills from Tomaszewska and Engelhardt. Becky Stehling handed LMU the sideout and the set point advantage on the ensuing play, finding the floor for one of her six kills on the night. The Lions could not close the set, allowing Pacific to knot the score and then earn four set point chances at 25, 26, 27 and eventually 28. The 28th point was earned on a Bergsma service error, preceding a kill from Torres to finish the match.

LMU returns to action on Tuesday at 7 p.m. as it hits the road to square-off against UC Santa Barbara.