Aug. 31, 2012

Box Score

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - The LMU women's volleyball team (4-1) swept past co-host UC Irvine (1-4) by scores of 25-22, 25-17, 25-20 on Friday night in Gersten Pavilion as part of the LMU/UCI Dual Tournament.

LMU's Litara Keil collected a match-high tying 10 kills on 19 swings with only two errors for a .421 hitting percentage. The native of Long Beach, Calif. also managed three block solos and two block assists to guide the Lions to victory. Junior Kathleen Luft also had 10 kills for LMU, helping the Lions to a .276 team hitting percentage off the hand of setter Hannah Tedrow with 35 assists.

The Lions held UC Irvine to a .078 hitting percentage over the course of the match, including a -.115 clip in the second set. The Anteaters were led by six kills from Aly Squires and Victoria Dennis. Squires also paced the team in digs with 12, matching LMU junior Betsi Metter's match-high mark.

The match was much closer than the three-set sweep would lead on, as the two teams played to 17 tie scores and seven lead changes over the course of the match. LMU trailed as late as 21-20 in the first set, but connected on five of the final six points in the period to earn its first lead of the set and get the ball rolling in the right direction. The Lions hit .344 in the opener, teaming the solid percentage with four blocks en route to victory.

LMU led nearly the entire way in the second, out-hitting the Anteaters by a count of .207 to -.115. Luft contributed three kills in the set, while Dennis had four for UC Irvine. LMU, which served-up four aces on the night, collected a pair in the second to accompany three blocks.

In what proved to be a see-saw battle, LMU and UC Irvine fought to 12 tie scores and seven lead changes in the final set. Knotted at 19, LMU rattled-off five straight points, highlighted by a pair of aces from Tedrow, to take a commanding 24-19 match-point advantage. After a service error spoiled the first match-point opportunity, sophomore Caitlin DeWitt found the floor for her ninth kill of the match to hand LMU the win.

The Lions will return to action tomorrow when they host Arizona State in Gersten Pavilion at 3 p.m.