Aug. 31, 2012

Box Score

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - The LMU women's volleyball team (3-1) came out a bit sluggish in the first set, but rebounded nicely to defeat visiting Colgate (0-4) by scores of 22-25, 25-17, 25-14, 25-18 on Friday in Gersten Pavilion as part of the LMU/UCI Dual Tournament.

Junior Kathleen Luft put together a stellar match, posting a match-best 20 kills with only five errors for a .441 hitting percentage. The native of Thousand Oaks, Calif. fell one dig shy of a double-double, teaming the 20 kills with nine digs.

Freshman setter Hannah Tedrow kept her assists-per-set mark above 10 with another solid showing, dishing-out 41 assists to accompany four of LMU's nine aces. She has now totaled 30+ assists in all four matches this year. With such an aggressive serving game, LMU often finds itself with serving errors, committing 23 on Friday, including eight in the first set alone.

The LMU attack came out a bit flat, hitting just .132 over the first set en route to dropping the period. Colgate, which hit -.034 in the first set, finished the match hitting -.028 overall. The eight service errors proved to be the difference in the set as Colgate managed just seven kills and three aces, but still earned the 1-0 lead in the match score.

LMU's attack fell even further in the second, hitting just .088, but five kills from Luft and three service aces proved just enough to even the tally at one set apiece. Tedrow contributed two of the three aces, while Luft hit .375. The Lions also did well to keep the ball off the floor on defense, totaling 16 digs, including six from junior libero Betsi Metter.

The 10-minute break between sets two and three served the Lions well, as the team came out hitting on all cylinders the rest of the way. The Lions hit .424 with three aces en route to a fourth-set victory, highlighted by six kills on nine swings from Luft. Colgate managed to hit for a positive percentage for the first time in the match, posting a .125 clip, but four kills apiece from Diane Seely and Lindsay Young was not enough to overcome the Lion onslaught.

Carrying momentum and sensing victory, LMU hit a blistering .542 in the final set, earning the match by way of a 25-18 decision. Luft finished her match with four kills on five attacks, joined offensively by three kills apiece from Kenna Crouse, Felicia Arriola and Caitlin DeWitt. DeWitt was making her first appearance of the year playing opposite the setter.

LMU will return to action tonight when it hosts UC Irvine at 7 p.m.

- GO LIONS -