Sept. 22, 2009

Box Score

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - LMU (9-5) hit just .121 over three sets against UC Santa Barbara (9-2) en route to being swept by the Gauchos, 25-21, 25-15, 25-19, on the road on Tuesday night in the Thunderdome.

Freshman Alaina Bergmsa led the Lions with 10 kills, but took 35 swings and committed seven errors for a .086 hitting percentage. Sophomore Ariana Covington hit .211, notching seven kills on 19 attacks with three errors. Alesha Young handled the majority of the setting duties for the Lions, dishing-out 19 assists while also notching two kills on two attacks. Freshman Kenna Crouse proved to be a small highlight for LMU, collecting five kills and three block assists. She hit .500 (5-1/8) in the third set alone with two block assists. LMU as a team recorded five total blocks, led by Bergsma with a block solo and a block assist.

Leah Sully paced all players with 15 kills on 32 attacks for a .312 hitting percentage. She also posted two block assists, helping UCSB to six total team blocks. Rebecca Saraceno was right behind Sully with 14 kills, two service aces and 18 digs for a double-double. UCSB hit .333 as a team, including a .371 mark in the second set. Dana Varggas dished-out 40 assists in only three sets for UCSB to help the Gauchos to the stellar hitting percentage.

Bergsma had five kills in set one alone, but it was not enough as Sully and Saraceno each contributed six for the Gauchos. Set one saw four tie scores, but only one lead change as UCSB led from virtually the beginning of the set. LMU won the first point in the period, but UCSB quickly answered to take a 4-2 lead on a Sully kill. That advantage increased to 13-9 on a Saraceno service ace and back-to-back kills from Stacey Schmidt and Sully. Saraceno's second ace made it 20-15 before the Gauchos pushed the set to its final point on a Felicia Arriola attack error at 24-18. The Lions won the next three points to make things interesting, but Saraceno found the floor for the final time in the period to hand UCSB the 25-21 victory.

Set two proved to be all UCSB as Saraceno and Sully were back at it again, collecting six and five kills, respectively. UCSB hit .371 in the set while holding LMU to just a .029 mark on the other side of the net. LMU actually took a 2-0 lead early in the set, but the lead was very short-lived as UCSB recorded each of the next four points to open a 4-2 lead. The Lions continued to stay close, trailing 11-10, but the Gauchos caught fire from there, opening-up a 14-11 lead before scoring four more unanswered points to lead 18-11. Saraceno guided UCSB to the win down the stretch, recording a kill for three of the final seven Gaucho points.

Crouse and the Lions gave a valiant effort in the final set, but UCSB proved too tough in the match, earning a 25-19 set victory in the final set. After Crouse's set-high five kills, Sully finished second with four for UCSB. Two other Gauchos had three kills, as UCSB hit .300 on the period. The third set, which saw six tie scores and two lead changes, did not start well for LMU, as the Lions saw themselves in a 4-0 hole early. LMU did manage to even the tally at six shortly thereafter, benefitting from three of Crouse's kills. The two teams proceeded to trade blows to 11-11 before UCSB started to make its run. A Saraceno kill made it 15-12 and forced a Lion timeout before back-to-back Lion errors allowed UCSB to claim a 19-14 advantage. Schmidt managed a pair of kills down the stretch, helping push the tally to 22-17, en route to Sully's final kill to run the match to its final point. After serving up an error, UCSB closed the match by finding Lily Lopez for the final point.

LMU will return to action on October 1 as it hosts San Diego to open WCC play in Gersten Pavilion. That match is slated to begin at 7 p.m.