Sept. 5, 2009

Box Score

LAS VEGAS, Nev. - LMU (3-2) fell to No. 9 UCLA (4-1) in three sets on Saturday morning after battling the Bruins close, 25-22, 25-23, 25-14. LMU managed to keep the top-10 ranked opponent fairly quiet offensively, holding the Bruins to just a .207 overall hitting percentage, including .109 and .121 marks in the first and second sets, respectively.

Ariana Covington and Jasmine Rankins led the Lions in the match, with Covington teaming 13 kills with seven digs. Rankins, a sophomore, collected 11 kills and nine digs, narrowly missing a double-double. Fellow sophomore Lauren DeGrandmont once again served as the Lion libero, notching a match-high 16 digs. Alesha Young and Olivia Bailey shared time at the setter position, with Bailey posting 15 assists to Young's 14. The team hit just .102 in the loss.

Dicey McGraw led all players with 16 kills on 41 attacks, teaming the mark with eight digs and two block solos. Amanda Gil finished second for the Bruins, collecting 10 kills on only 17 attacks for a stellar .471 hitting percentage. Setter Lauren Cook passed-out 31 assists, guiding UCLA to a .405 hitting percentage in the lopsided third set.

Set one, which proved to be a close battle, did not start in that direction, as UCLA jumped-out to an early 4-1 lead on kills from McGraw and Gil and two Lion attack errors. LMU quickly rebounded to even the score at five, one of nine tie scores that set one would produce. The Lions eventually took a lead at 12-10 after DeGrandmont served-up an ace to precede a UCLA attack error to force a Bruin timeout. LMU would continue to hold a small lead until UCLA evened the tally at 16 on a Rankins error. UCLA would build some steam from there, earning a 20-18 lead to force a Lion timeout. The break did little to stop momentum, as the ninth-ranked team in the nation won each of the next four points out of the huddle, including three Lion attack errors, to force set-point. Trailing 24-18, LMU managed to crawl back to 24-22, benefiting from a few unforced errors on the UCLA side of the net. Unfortunately for the Lions, Sara Sage took it upon herself to right the ship, finding the floor for one of her two kills in the set to secure the victory.

Rankins led all players in set two with seven kills, but her effort, teamed with five kills from Covington, was not enough to earn a victory in the set. Gil led the Bruin offense with five kills on just seven attacks, also collecting one service ace. The Bruins jumped out to an early 10-6 lead before LMU rallied to take a lead of its own at 13-12, highlighted by a Young service ace and three UCLA attack errors. As they did in set one, the two teams continued to trade blows to the tune of 10 tie scores and six lead changes. LMU looked on track to upsetting the Bruins in the set, earning a 21-17 advantage late in the period. Proving its worth near the top of the rankings, UCLA did not give up, battling back to even at 22 by winning five of the next six points to force a Lion timeout. The Lions won the first point out of the break, but UCLA would find the key to the lock, getting the ball to Gil on the next three possessions for consecutive kills to close the set.

Carrying momentum after the come-from-behind victory in set two, UCLA did not look back in the final set. The Bruins cruised to a 25-14 win, highlighted by nine kills from McGraw. While UCLA hit .405 as a team, LMU managed just a .086 mark of its own. The Bruins took an early 10-6 advantage en route to leading 18-9 on a Gil kill. McGraw pushed the advantage to 22-11 on her seventh kill of the set before her final kill presented the Lions with match-point at 24-12. The crimson and navy did manage to notch two more points, but it was far too little and too late as a DeGrandmont service ace spelled the end of the line for LMU.

The Lions conclude play at the UNLV tournament tonight as they meet the host Rebels at 7 p.m.