Aug. 28, 2010

Box Score

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - The LMU volleyball team (2-1) swept Bucknell (0-3), 25-17, 25-16, 25-15, on Saturday evening to finish the 2010 Luxe City Center Trojan Invitational with a 2-1 record. The Lions hit .311 (44-12/103) over the course of the match, led by sophomore Kenna Crouse's 10 kills on 17 attacks for a .412 percentage.

Outside of Crouse, who also notched a service ace, three digs and three block assists, Jasmine Rankins and Felicia Arriola both pitched-in 10 kills for the Lions. Arriola was the lone player for either team to record a double-double, teaming the 10 kills with 10 digs. Sophomore Olivia Bailey notched 27 assists and three service aces, guiding LMU to the solid hitting percentage. Freshman Paige Craine also found time setting the offense, dishing-out seven assists. The Lions as a team posted nine service aces and 14 service errors.

Morgan Clark and Heidi Kamp got the bulk of the attacks for Bucknell, each taking 17 swings. Clark notched a team-best five kills, while Kamp posted four. Bucknell managed just a .026 hitting percentage, including hitting for a positive percentage in only the first set.

LMU came out strong against Bucknell, hitting .366 (17-2/41) over the course of the first set en route to a 25-17 victory. Crouse and Lauren DeGrandmont both hit for perfect 1.000 percentages, with Crouse posting a set-best five kills on as many swings. The sophomore from Coto de Caza, Calif. also pitched-in a block assist in the set. LMU benefitted from a pair of service aces, including one each from Megan Nash and Bailey, but Lion serving errors proved to be the only issue for LMU in the first set, as they served up seven in the opening frame. Outside of the points on Lion errors, Bucknell hit just .115 (7-4/26) in the set, posting seven kills on 26 attacks.

Crouse continued to play well in set number two, posting a pair of kills, a service ace and a block assist to help LMU to a 25-16 victory. Arriola, who was stellar all tournament, also got into the mix, posting four kills on nine swings. LMU served up six more service errors in the set, but managed to hold Bucknell to a -.042 (5-6/24) hitting percentage on the other side of the net. The two teams played even to 7-7, but LMU got things rolling from there, scoring three straight points on kills from Bailey, Crouse and Rankins. The Lions did not look back from there, advancing the lead to 15-10 and then 20-14 on a Bison attack error. Junior transfer Alex Ferraco connected on her first attack as a Lion for point 24 before a Bailey service ace sealed the Lion set victory.

Rankins, who tallied five kills in the first two sets combined, rattled-off five more on just eight attacks in the third alone. Crouse finished strong as well, connecting for three more kills on six attacks with a block assist. Freshman Betsi Metter made her presence known from the service area in the third set, notching two of her match-high tying three service aces in the period. As they had done in the previous set, the two teams battled to even early, reaching a stalemate at 10-10. Once again, LMU turned up the intensity from there, earning 11 of the next 14 points to take a commanding 21-13 lead. A pair of Bison attack errors sent the match to its final point at 24-15 before Metter dropped back and delivered her final ace of the night.

The Lions return to action next weekend when they travel to Manhattan, Kan. for the Varney's Kansas State Invitational. The Lions open play against host Kansas State on Friday at 10:30 a.m.

2010 Luxe City Center All-Tournament Team
LMU
#15 Jasmine Rankins
#67 Felicia Arriola

USC
#7 Alex Jupiter
#8 Lauren Williams
#12 Kendall Bateman (MVP)

Cal State Fullerton
#23 Erin Saddler
#2 Cami Croteau

Bucknell
#15 Heidi Kamp