Box Score

Playing on the road against one of only two teams to sweep the Lions this year, the LMU volleyball team (22-8, 13-5 WCC) swept San Diego (21-8, 14-4 WCC) at the Jenny Craig Pavilion by scores of 25-22, 25-23, 25-19 on Tuesday night. With the victory, LMU closes the regular season having won 13 of its final 15 matches headed into Sunday's NCAA selection show, and finishes third overall in the WCC â€" its best finish since finishing third in 2003.

Seniors Rachelle Suaava and Amber Mirabello led the way for the Lions, collecting 12 and 10 kills, respectively. The duo also impressed on the block, posting six and four blocks to help LMU to 11 as a team. Fellow senior Hannah Tedrow collected six blocks of her own while dishing out 38 assists and setting the Lions to a .240 hitting percentage.

The Lions came out strong in the first set, with Mirabello contributing seven of her 10 match kills in the opener. LMU jumped out to an early 7-2 lead on a Mirabello kill, and forced a USD timeout at 14-8, but the Toreros made a run of their own, eventually drawing back even at 14 by way of a 6-0 run. After trading blows to 22-22, LMU won each of the final three points of the first, including the final two on blocks from Suaava and Tedrow.

The Lions led virtually the entire way in the second, as the two teams played to two tie scores and one lead change. Junior Jamie Lea posted five kills on eight errorless swings, and the Lions recorded three team blocks to limit USD to a .182 clip. USD won three of the first four points in the set, but LMU quickly drew back even at 4-4 as part of a 13-2 run that turned a 4-2 deficit into a 15-6 lead. Tedrow served the bulk of the run, as Mirabello collected a pair of kills and a block. Despite the streak, the Toreros forced the Lions into timeouts at 16-13 and 21-19, but LMU pushed the second to set point at 24-21 on a USD service error. The home team continued to rally from there, pushing to within a point at 24-23, but Lea connected on the ensuing play to hand LMU the commanding 2-0 lead in the match score.

LMU never trailed in the third, benefitting from four kills apiece from Suaava and Sarah Sponcil, and five total team blocks. Tedrow accounted for four of the blocks, while Suaava was in on three. Although the Lions led the rest of the way after claiming a 4-3 lead early, USD did manage to stay within a point as late as 18-17. Erin Williams connected for the next kill to make it 19-17 before Kristen Castellanos served up one of her two aces in the set to push LMU to the 20-point plateau at 20-17. LMU allowed just two points the rest of the way, eventually earning the sweep on a Lisa Kramer attack error.

LMU will now await the announcement of the 2015 NCAA Volleyball Tournament field. The selection show will air live Sunday at 6 pm PT on ESPNU. If the Lions hear their name, they will punch their ticket to the tournament for the third time in the last four years.