Sept. 4, 2010

Box Score | Photo Gallery

MANHATTAN, Kan. - The LMU volleyball team (4-2) finished play at the Varney's Kansas State Invitational on Saturday morning by sweeping Oral Roberts (2-5) by scores of 25-13, 25-17, 25-11. The sweep was the second of the year for LMU, as it also blanked Bucknell in the final match of last weekend's Trojan Invitational at USC. LMU never trailed in the match, and only found itself tied on one occasion, at 1-1 in the third set. At the conclusion of the tournament, junior Jasmine Rankins was named to the All-Tournament team.

The Lions hit a blistering .432 (43-8/81) over the course of the match, including .800 in the third set alone. LMU connected for 17 kills on 20 attacks with only one error in that period. Rankins led all players with 13 kills on 27 attacks for a .333 hitting percentage. Felicia Arriola managed 12 kills on just 18 swings for a .500 hitting percentage, while junior Emily Cheek and senior Becky Stehling each hit a perfect 1.000 with three and four kills, respectively. Sophomore Olivia Bailey and freshman Paige Craine guided LMU to the stellar hitting percentage from the setter position, dishing-out 25 and 10 assists, respectively. Handling the libero duties, Lauren DeGrandmont amassed a match-best 11 digs.

Elizabeth McVicker paced the Golden Eagle offense, collecting six kills on 14 attacks. The Lions held Oral Roberts as a team to just a .060 (22-17/84) hitting percentage over the course of the match, including keeping its opposition to sub-.100 hitting percentages in every set.

Rankins and Arriola set the tone early for LMU, collecting six kills apiece in the first set. The Lions, who served-up nine more aces in the match, managed to post four in the first set alone. LMU out-hit Oral Roberts by a count of .367-.033, but McVicker did hit a perfect 1.000 with four kills on four swings for the Golden Eagles in the first. The Lions led 6-0 and then 13-2 en route to running away with the first set. Leading 24-13, Rankins found the floor to hand LMU the set victory.

Rankins and Arriola once again took the reins in the second set, notching four and three kills, respectively, to guide LMU to the 25-17 victory. Sophomore Kenna Crouse posted a pair of service aces, while the Lions hit .258 as a team. In what proved to be the closest of all three sets, Oral Roberts received four kills from Joana Gruber en route to hitting .097 as a team. LMU jumped-out to an early 11-4 lead on an Alyse Hensley kill and a Golden Eagle attack error. The seven-point cushion continued to 17-10 and then 20-13 before Craine served-up an ace to force the final Oral Roberts timeout of the set at 21-13. The Lions cruised from there, benefitting from a Hensley kill for the 25th and final point.

Stehling, who did not appear in the match until the third set, made the most of her appearance, connecting on all four of her attacks and adding a service ace in the period. Cheek also made her debut in the third set, going 3-for-3 in attacks for her perfect percentage. Megan Nash, who finished the match with five kills and a service ace, posted a set-high tying four kills on five swings in the final frame, helping to guide LMU to the unbelievable .800 clip. After trading a point to start the set, LMU quickly built a 10-4 advantage on a Stehling kill and a pair of Golden Eagle attack errors. A Stehling ace forced the final timeout of the match from Oral Roberts at 18-5, as the Lions continued to push the accelerator to the finish. Back-to-back swings from Rankins ultimately sealed the deal for the Lions, as the junior connected on each of the final three kills for LMU.

The Lions return to action next weekend when they travel to BYU for the BYU Molten Classic beginning on Friday.