SAN DIEGO — LMU defeated San Diego 3-2 on Thursday, winning 13-25, 26-24, 25-17, 22-25, 15-12 at Jenny Craig Pavilion. The Lions cut an eight-point second-set deficit to two before taking that set 26-24, helping turn the match after dropping the opener.
Maria Tabacuks powered the LMU attack with a team-high 23 kills, surpassing her season average of 15.0, while totaling a team-high 26.0 points, 10 digs and two service aces for a double-double.
Nicole Schuetz delivered a strong all-around performance with 10 kills, 11 digs and a career-high six service aces while totaling 16.5 points.
Gabriella Cascione anchored the Lions defensively with a team-high 19 digs while adding six assists and one service ace.
Delfina Schuh directed the LMU offense with a team-high 27 assists while adding 11 digs and one service ace for a double-double.
San Diego opened with three straight points, and after a service error gave the Lions their first point, Nemo Beach's service turn helped the home team stretch the lead to 12-1.
Maria Tabacuks put down the Lions' first kill, and
Nicole Schuetz added two kills to get the Lions to 13-5, but San Diego continued to trade back into control and moved ahead 21-10. Kills by Schuetz and Tabacuks and a Kierstyn Barton attack error gave the Lions three straight points to 21-13, before a Ryann Knuth kill started San Diego's four-point close to a 25-13 set win.
The Lions pulled even at 2-2 on
Delfina Schuh's ace, but San Diego answered with a stretch that included a service ace and multiple blocks to move in front 14-7 and later 19-11. Kills by
Zaria Thornton,
Aleksandra Stojanovic and Schuetz helped the Lions cut the margin to 19-15, but San Diego pushed the lead back to 23-17. From there, Stojanovic put down a kill,
Gabriella Cascione served an ace and Tabacuks delivered four kills during a 6-0 Lions run that tied the set at 23-23. After Ryann Knuth gave San Diego set point at 24-23, Tabacuks tied it, Schuetz put the Lions ahead and Tabacuks finished the 26-24 set win with a kill.
After San Diego led 6-5, the Lions moved in front, getting a service error, a San Diego attack error and a Stojanovic kill to take an 8-6 edge. After San Diego pulled within 8-7, the Lions scored seven straight points, with Schuetz adding three service aces during a serving run that helped push the lead to 15-7. The Lions built the margin again from 16-8 to 21-8 behind Stojanovic-Tabacuks block, a Tabacuks kill and an
Anya Santrac ace before San Diego answered with five straight points to get to 21-13. The Lions traded points late and closed the third set 25-17 on a San Diego service error.
The Lions stayed within 11-10 in the fourth set after Tabacuks finished a kill from
Kyla Firestone. Firestone set a career high with 13 assists. San Diego answered with six straight points to build a 17-10 lead, getting a kill and service ace from Nemo Beach and a kill from Kierstyn Barton during the stretch. The Lions worked back with kills from Thornton and Schuetz, a
Kayla Lopez ace and back-to-back Schuetz aces that cut the deficit to 23-21. San Diego reached set point on a Meghan Scholz kill, and after Stojanovic answered for the Lions, Beach closed the set at 25-22.
Tabacuks gave the Lions an early lift with four kills as the Lions built a 6-3 lead on
Nicole Schuetz's kill and a Tabacuks service ace. San Diego answered to tie the set at 6-6, moved in front 8-7 on a BayLea Sparks block, and the Lions came back with four straight points, including an
Ayanna Henry kill and Schuetz ace, to go ahead 11-8. San Diego pulled even at 11-11 on a Kierstyn Barton kill, but a BayLea Sparks ball-handling error put the Lions back in front before the Lions reached set point at 14-11. After
Anya Santrac's service error gave San Diego one more point, Nemo Beach's service error closed the fifth set for the Lions, 15-12. The Lions recorded a season-high 13 service aces in the match.
The Lions are 14-2 overall and 5-0 in West Coast Conference play. San Diego is 7-7 overall and 2-2 in WCC play.
Up Next for LMU Women's Volleyball
Up next, the Lions volleyball team travels to Denver, CO, to face Denver on Saturday, Oct. 10, at 12 p.m.
