Sept. 23, 2008

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -

Complete Release in PDF Format

THIS WEEK...

BRIEFLY...
Having won five of its last six matches, all of which have come at home, LMU (9-4) will remain in the friendly confines of Gersten Pavilion as it welcomes Cal State Bakersfield (8-6) to town on Friday in this week’s only match for the Lions.  The match is slated to begin at 7 p.m., and is the final non-conference match before LMU begins conference play next week at Santa Clara.

FOLLOWWW THE LIONS...
It’s easy to follow the Lions throughout the 2008 season! Just log on to LMULions.com for all the latest Lion volleyball coverage.  All LMU home matches, and the majority of the matches on the road, will be broadcast live via Gametracker.  In addition, every Lion home match will also be broadcast online courtesy of the Lions Audio Network.  Just visit the Lion volleyball page at www.LMULions.com, click on schedule, and click on the link located on the right side of the schedule for that particular match.

GAMEDAY AT GERSTEN…
Fans, come cheer on the Lions this year in Gersten Pavilion.  LMU will host 17 home matches this season (including three matches in Burns Recreation Center as part of the LMU Four Points Sheraton LAX/LMU Volleyball Classic).  When traveling to the venue, please remember that the Loyola Marymount University campus is located in Westchester at One LMU Drive, approximately four miles north of the Los Angeles International Airport.  Fans traveling to LMU must use the main entrance off of Lincoln Blvd. on LMU Drive.  Those seeking handicap parking must also use the main entrance, where they can get directions from the guard at the front gate.  Gersten’s doors open one hour before the start of the match.

TEAM LMU THIS WEEK…
Sunday’s men’s soccer match against Oregon State is the fourth of five “Team LMU” days around the Westchester campus for men’s soccer this season.  “Team LMU” was created to generate awareness and excitement for LMU sporting events on game days.  Staff and students are encouraged to wear LMU gear on designated “Team LMU” days and to attend the games.

LION TRACKS…
The Lions are coming off a 2-1 week in which they defeated UC Santa Barbara on Tuesday, UC Riverside on Friday and fell to Arizona on Saturday night to snap a five-match winning streak.  LMU extended its winning streak to four consecutive matches with the 3-1 victory over the Gauchos.  The Lions hit well on the night, but it was their defense in sets one, three and four that spelled doom for UCSB.  LMU held the Gauchos to .034 (6-5/29), .083 (12-9/36) and -.025 (9-10/40) hitting percentages over those three sets, respectively.  As she has done all season for LMU, senior Emily Day led the Lion offense with a match-best 20 kills on 50 attacks for a .260 hitting percentage.  The native of Torrance, Calif. also totaled two assists, three block assists and 15 digs to notch a double-double.  Fellow senior Erin Downey also carried weight offensively and defensively, collecting a season-high 11 kills at a .588 clip (11-1/17) and totaling a career-best 10 block assists for a double-double.  The Lions as a team collected 26 block assists, while committing only one block error.  LMU went on to defeat UC Riverside, 3-1, on Friday in the first of two impromptu matches in Gersten Pavilion.  Complications from Hurricane Ike forced the cancellation of the Lions’ regularly-scheduled tournament in Houston, Texas.  The Lions had to recover from a set-one loss to the Highlanders, rattling-off three straight set victories in the match.  LMU had four different players with double-digit kills in the match.  Day led the way with 19 kills in 48 attempts for a .292 hitting percentage, teaming that mark with 10 digs for her ninth double-double of the season, tops in the West Coast Conference.  Sophomore Renee Horton dished-out a match-best 50 assists as LMU hit .316 as a team.  Becky Stehling was the most efficient Lion with 10 kills on only 18 attempts for a .500 hitting percentage.  Diana Hiromoto had her best night so far from the service area, totaling five aces.  In a match that featured two nine-win teams that had won five consecutive matches, it was LMU who had its streak snapped, falling to Arizona in three sets, 25-19, 25-19, 25-19, on Saturday night.  The sweep was Arizona’s eighth of the season, while LMU was swept for the third time.  Day once again led the Lion offense with nine kills on 33 attacks, while freshman Ariana Covington totaled eight kills in the loss.  Sophomore Megan Nash recorded the highest hitting percentage for LMU, posting a .364 mark (five-for-11).  Senior Lauren Kirk managed a match-best 12 digs, while Hiromoto, in what has become an everyday occurrence, notched multiple service aces with two.

BAKERSFIELD BABBLE…
Cal State Bakersfield enters the week toting an 8-6 overall record winning the UC Davis Aggie Invitational last weekend.  The Roadrunners beat UC Davis to open tournament play before taking down Sacramento State in five sets on Saturday.  Playing for an unbeaten record and the Tournament Title on Saturday night, CSUB swept Fordham.  Senior outside hitter Sarah Norman gave a phenomenal performance at the tournament, earning tournament MVP honors after totaling 54 kills and a hitting percentage of .411.  Norman leads the team on offense, totaling 166 kills at a rate of 3.19 per set.  Rosemary Stribling places second in kills with 157, followed by Lindy DeGeare with 108.  Rounding-out the Bakersfield players with 100+ kills is Alysia Baker with 105.  Barbie Thistle serves as the setter for CSUB, dishing-out 562 assists over the first 14 matches of the season.  Kayla Williamson leads the team in service aces with 35, but she has also committed 32 service errors.  Stribling is the most active player on the block, collecting 30 total blocks.  Mystie McNaughton, who currently ranks second in school history in digs with 1,561, has amassed a team-best 297 this season.  Head coach John Price is in his 12th season at the helm of the program.

HOMETOWN GIRLS…
LMU enters its eighth home contest of the year on Friday toting a 5-2 record over its first seven matches.  The Lions own a 181-64 overall record at home under Head Coach Steve Stratos over his 18+ years at the helm of the program.  So far this season, LMU has hit .243 (332-124/857) at home compared to .188 (261-120/750) on the road and at neutral sites.  The Lions’ kill leader, Emily Day, also shows the same pattern of success at home.  She has totaled 151 kills at a .226 pace in home matches while amassing 88 kills and a hitting percentage of .143 in all other matches.

WEST COAST CONFERENCE CHATTER…
After another strong week of non-conference play, Pepperdine continues to stay hot as they are one of only six schools in the country to remain undefeated at 12-0. Other schools with notable wins were Santa Clara, who beat No. 22 Long Beach State, and Saint Mary's, who beat No. 19 Cal Poly. Both wins came on the road.  Santa Clara’s Anna Cmaylo took home the WCC Player of the Week honor for this week. Cmaylo led the Broncos to sweeps over Sacramento State and at then-No. 22 Long Beach State. Cmaylo was particularly dominant in the Broncos' win over Long Beach State, tallying a match-high 12 kills on a blistering .647 hitting percentage. The senior middle blocker controlled the nets, registering 10 total blocks (1 solo, 9 assists) to help limit Long Beach State to a .038 hitting percentage for the match. On the week, Cmaylo averaged 3.22 kpg, 1.67 bpg, while hitting a solid .396. Two West Coast Conference women's volleyball teams are ranked in national polls.  The University of San Diego is ranked No. 15 in the CSTV/AVCA Coaches Poll, while Pepperdine University is ranked No. 13 in the Volleyball Magazine Poll and just recently broke into the top 20 CSTV/AVCA Poll at No. 16, which is five spots up from last week.  At 12-0, Pepperdine is one of only six teams in the country to remain undefeated.  Several players in the WCC rank among the nation's best in several categories. Notable leaders are Jessica Nyrop (USD) and Kapua Kamana'o (SMC), who are ninth and 13th in assists per game, while Julie Rubenstein (PEP) and Amy DeGroot (USD) are eighth and 12th in kills per game. As a team, San Diego ranks first in assists per game and in kills per game.

CAN’T HOLD HER “DOWNEY”…
Senior Erin Downey proved herself as one of the hottest Lion players over the past week of play.  The native of San Jose, Calif. garnered All-Tournament recognition at the Four Points Sheraton LAX/LMU Volleyball Classic to start what has become an outstanding run of play.  Downey recorded 11 kills and a season-best .588 hitting percentage against UC Santa Barbara on September 16.  She also posted a career-high 10 block assists in that match before recording a season-high 12 kills against UC Riverside on September 19.  Downey also was impressive at the net against the Highlanders, notching a career-high tying two block solos in the victory.  Over the last week of play, Downey has collected 25 kills at a .422 pace, two assists, two block solos and 11 block assists for a total of 13 blocks at a rate of 1.30 per set.  Her .314 attack percentage, four block solos and 19 block assists for the season all place third on the squad this year.

BRING IN THE “DH”…
Freshman Diana Hiromoto has proved to be a valuable server off the Lion bench since earning a spot in the rotation on September 12 against Pittsburgh.  Despite not playing in any of the matches prior to that date, Hiromoto ranks first in service aces with 18 at a .86 aces per set average entering the match on Friday.  She also owns 54 digs at a rate of 2.57 per set.  The native of Honolulu, Hawai’i collected a season and career-best five service aces against UC Riverside on September 19.  She has also recorded four aces on two occasions (Pittburgh on September 12 and UCSB on September 16), and three on September 13 vs. San Jose State.  If she continues to record aces at her current pace of three aces per match, she would finish the regular season with 51 aces, which would place her fourth in the All-Time Single Season record book.

LMU RECORD BOOKS…
Three Lions have already cemented their names in the LMU record books as the Lions continue to play in 2008.  Senior Emily Day currently ranks sixth in total attacks (3,417), seventh in kill average at 3.48 and kills (1,236), ninth in digs (993), and 10th dig average (2.80).  She sits just 38 kills, 39 digs and 77 attacks from the next closest spot in the All-Time books.  In addition, she needs just seven more digs to record 1,000 and become only the ninth Lion ever to reach that plateau.  Having already amassed 1,000 career kills, when she reaches the 1,000 career digs mark, she will become the seventh member of the 1,000 kill/1,000 dig club.  Sophomore Renee Horton already ranks eighth in assists in a single season, totaling 1,318 last year.  Combined with this year’s numbers, Horton has totaled 1,714 assists in less than two years of play, ranking seventh in the LMU record books in that category.  The native of Wildomar, Calif. is also a lock to enter the career assists average top-10 list at the end of the season.  Like Horton, fellow sophomore Whitney Leonard already pervades the single-season record books after one year at LMU, claiming second in dig average (4.53) and sixth in total digs (426).  On the career records side, she is in prime position to place in the top-10 for dig average at the end of the season.

FOUR POINT SHERATON FOURSOME…
Seniors Emily Day and Erin Downey, along with sophomore Renee Horton and freshman Diana Hiromoto were each named to the 2008 Four Points Sheraton LAX/LMU Volleyball Classic All-Tournament team following the two-day event.  In addition, Day was named Tournament MVP for her outstanding effort in guiding LMU to the Tournament Championship.  LMU swept Pittsburgh and UC Irvine, while defeating San Jose State 3-1 on Saturday afternoon.  Over the course of the three matches, Day collected 43 kills on 111 attacks for a .270 attack percentage.  The native of Torrance, Calif.  tallied seven service aces and 27 digs, while posting two double-doubles and averaging 4.30 kills per set and 2.70 digs per set.  Downey managed 20 kills and hit .405 (20-for-42) while totaling seven blocks (two block solos and five block assists).  Horton dished-out 90 assists and collected 20 digs, while Hiromoto served-up seven aces, including four in the opening match of the tournament on Friday, and posted 33 digs.

LOBO CLASSIC TRIFECTA…
Senior Emily Day and sophomores Megan Nash and Becky Stehling were named to the 2008 MCM Elegante Lobo Classic All-Tournament team after leading the Lions to a runner-up finish at the two-day event.  Day, who like Nash and Stehling, started all three matches for LMU on the weekend, finished the tournament with 41 kills, two assists, four service aces and 37 digs.  As always, Day was active at the net, posting a block solo in each of the three matches, seven total block assists and 10 total blocks.  As expected, Day was a go-to player from the start, averaging 4.10 kills per set during the tournament.  Nash found time in all 10 sets for the Lions over the weekend, posting 18 kills at a .362 clip (18-for-47) and making only one attack error.  In addition, the Manhattan Beach, Calif. native dished-up two assists and collected 10 digs.  Playing an essential role in the Lions’ defense at the net, she tallied one block solo, 12 block assists, including eight against Idaho State on Friday, for a total of 13 blocks on the tournament.  Stehling also played in all 10 sets for the Lions, collecting 28 kills at a .356 clip (28-7/59).  The native of Austin, Texas also posted five block assists, including four in the Championship Match against New Mexico.  Stehling posted 12 of her 28 kills in the opening match on Friday, connecting at a .435 clip (12-2/23).  She proceeded to hit .350 on Saturday morning, tallying 10 kills on 20 attacks and committing three errors.

THE STATS ON STRAT...
Steve Stratos completed his 18th season at the helm of the program with an 18th straight winning year in 2007.  In his tenure at LMU, Stratos has led the Lions to nine 20-win seasons and 11 postseason appearances.  He has posted a career record of 368-182, the most victories in LMU volleyball history and second-most among current WCC coaches.  His .669 winning percentage entering the 2008 season placed him in the top-50 (46th) among active Division I coaches.  In conference play, he owns a record of 170-82, for a .675 winning percentage.  With 170 career conference victories, Stratos again ranks second among active coaches in the WCC.