Oct. 14, 2010

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LOS ANGELES, Calif. - The LMU volleyball team (11-8, 3-1) swept Portland (8-13, 1-4) on Thursday night in Gersten Pavilion. The victory was the first for the Lions at home this season, and came by scores of 25-15, 25-13, 25-23.

The Lions served-up eight service aces in the victory, including four from junior Jasmine Rankins and three from sophomore Felicia Arriola. Sophomore Olivia Bailey was the lone player to post a double-double, teaming a match-best 33 assists with a team-high 10 digs. The Lions as a team hit .358 (43-9/95) over the course of the three sets, including a match-best nine kills from freshman Alyse Hensley. Senior Megan Nash and Rankins each posted eight kills, including the eight on just 12 attacks for Nash, resulting in a match and career-high .667 hitting percentage.

Marissa Plummer and Rachel Femling led the Portland offense with seven and six kills, respectively. The Pilots hit just .141 as a team, while setter Madison Smith passed-out 22 assists and collected five digs. Libero Danielle Dupar posted a match-best 11 digs for the Pilots.

LMU came out swinging in the first set, managing a .419 hitting percentage in the opener alone. Hensley and Nash each notched four kills in the first set, as Nash reached the mark on just five attacks. Rankins and Arriola got the ball rolling from the service area, both serving-up an ace in the period. The Lions and Pilots battled early, but LMU pulled away from 7-7 on. After earning a 14-9 advantage, LMU pushed the accelerator further, racing to a 20-13 lead on a Becky Stehling kill. The Lions cruised to the win from there, benefitting from a pair of kills from Rankins and one from Nash to close the period at 25-15.

As impressive as it was in the first set, LMU got a little better in the second. The Lions hit an incredible .520 in the period, led by four different players with three kills apiece. Hensley, Nash and Bailey all posted three kills in as many attacks for perfect hitting percentages. The Lions managed four aces in the period, including a pair from Rankins and one apiece from Arriola and junior Emily Cheek. LMU never trailed in the second, jumping-out to an early 11-1 lead. Nash connected on a kill to run the tally to 16-6 and force a Portland timeout before Hensley brought the Lions to the 20-point plateau with a kill at 20-9. After having a set point spoiled at 24-12, Bailey posted her third and final kill of the set to hand LMU a commanding 2-0 match score lead.

Although the third set was much closer, as the teams battled to nine tie scores and three lead changes, the final result was the same when the Lions earned a 25-23 victory to take the match and earn the sweep. Rankins led the way for the Lions, posting four kills and one service ace. Stehling notched three kills on just five attacks in the third, while Arriola served-up her third and final ace. After playing even to 10, LMU won six of the next eight points to take a 16-12 lead. Portland refused to surrender without a fight on Thursday night, scratching back to even at 17 on a bad set from Bailey. The teams continued to trade points and the lead en route to finding themselves even for the final time at 23. Arriola found the floor for LMU's 24th point before an attack error from Plummer handed the Lions the sweep.

The Lions will return to action on Saturday when they host WCC-foe Gonzaga at 1 p.m.