Aug. 25, 2012

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LOS ANGELES, Calif. -

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The LMU women's volleyball team (2-0) hit a blistering .464 en route to sweeping Iona College (0-2) by scores of 25-18, 25-16, 25-14 on Saturday afternoon at the DoubleTree Los Angeles Westside Invitational. The hitting percentage is the fifth-best mark at LMU since 1998, and the best for LMU since hitting .466 against Cal State Bakersfield on September 6, 2008. LMU made just eight errors on 84 attacks with 47 kills en route to the victory. LMU has now hit above .400 in five of its six sets played this year.

Junior Kathleen Luft led all players with 13 kills on 22 errorless attacks for an unbelievable .591 percentage. The native of Thousand Oaks, Calif. also recorded five digs and a block assist to help LMU to three total team blocks. Sophomore Litara Keil continued her hot start to 2012, collecting 11 kills and a .500 hitting percentage to accompany a pair of aces and two block assists. Freshman setter Hannah Tedrow set the Lions to the stellar hitting percentage, passing out 33 assists to go along with two aces and six digs.

Catrina Warren and McKenzie Humann each had six kills for Iona College, but the Gaels hit just .138 as a team over the course of the match. Humann did her best to keep that mark high, connecting for her six on just 11 attacks without an error to record a .545 hitting percentage. Libero Theresa Harvey, who led all players with 28 digs against UC Santa Barbara yesterday, managed seven more in three sets against the Lions, falling five shy of a match-high 12 from LMU's Betsi Metter.

LMU rode the arm of Luft in the first set, setting her for 15 swings and receiving 10 kills. Felicia Arriola and Keil pitched-in five and four kills, respectively, as LMU hit .410 in the period. Metter did her best to keep the ball off the floor defensively, posting 10 of her 12 digs in the opening set as LMU defeated Iona College by a count of 25-18.

After holding the Gaels to just a .125 hitting percentage in the first, LMU tighten the reins even more in the second, allowing just a .120 clip en route to taking a 2-0 match advantage with a 25-16 victory. Keil contributed five kills on seven attacks with an ace to lead LMU. The Lions never trailed in the period, eventually earning the set on a kill from Amber Mirabello and a Gael attack error.

LMU came out of the intermission swinging for the sweep, connecting for a blistering .565 percentage in the final frame to earn the sweep with a lopsided 25-14 decision. Mirabello posted five of her nine match kills on just five swings to guide the offense to victory. LMU, which once again never trailed in the third, also brought the heat from the service area, notching three aces, including the match-winner from Metter.

LMU will conclude action at the DoubleTree Los Angeles Westside Invitational at 7 p.m. tonight when it hosts UC Santa Barbara (1-1) in the final match. The Gaels will return to Gersten Pavilion at 4:30 p.m. to meet UConn (1-1) as tournament play continues this afternoon.