Nov. 4, 2008

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -

Complete Release in PDF Format

THIS WEEK...

BRIEFLY...
After dropping back-to-back matches for the first time at home this season, LMU (12-11, 2-7) will look to snap its four-match losing streak when it visits No. 23 Pepperdine (16-5, 4-5) on Thursday in Malibu, Calif.  The Lions are winless in true road matches this year, toting a 0-6 record so far.

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.

DIG FOR THE CURE…
For the second consecutive year, LMU volleyball took part in the Dig for the Cure Breast Cancer campaign.  100% of the proceeds made during LMU’s match against Saint Mary’s on October 30 were donated to benefit the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.  At last count, the Lions donated a grand total of $3,198.50.

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…
Monday’s men’s basketball games against Hope International and Saturday’s women’s soccer match against St. Mary’s are this week’s “Team LMU” events.  “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 0-2 week at home in WCC play in which they were beaten by Saint Mary’s on Thursday and then-No. 24 Santa Clara on Saturday.  LMU has now lost four consecutive matches and all six matches it has played on the road this year as they travel to Malibu, Calif. this week.  LMU lost a five-set heartbreaker on Thursday night, its first five-set match of the year.  The Lions jumped out to a two set lead in the match, but the Gaels stormed back and won the last three sets to take the crucial West Coast Conference match.  The Lions were led on offense by three players with 18 or more kills. Sophomore Becky Stehling continued her impressive season with 21 kills and a hitting percentage of .571 for the match. Her 21 kills tied with senior Emily Day for a team-high on the night. Finishing third on the team with 18 kills was freshman Ariana Covington who finished second on the team with a .256 hitting percentage. Both Stehling and Covington set season highs in kills, while sophomore setter Renee Horton amassed a season-best 65 assists.  LMU then dropped a four-set match to then-No. 24 Santa Clara by scores of 25-21, 28-26, 19-25 and 25-18, on Saturday afternoon in Gersten Pavilion.  Day once again led the Lion offense on the afternoon, posting a match-high 18 kills on 54 attacks for a .185 hitting percentage. The native of Torrance, Calif. teamed that mark with 13 digs for a double-double. Senior Erin Downey and Covington each totaled nine kills, while Covington also contributed a team-best 16 digs to narrowly miss a double-double.  Horton had another strong performance on Saturday, posting eight kills on 11 attacks for a .545 hitting percentage. She also dished-out 42 assists as the Lions hit .215 as a team. LMU managed 10 total team blocks, including two block solos and 16 block assists.

CATCHING THE WAVES…
No. 23 Pepperdine enters the week toting a 16-5 overall record, 4-5 in the WCC.  The Waves sit in fifth place in the conference after dropping both of their matches last week.  Pepperdine is coming off a sweep by then-No. 24 Santa Clara on Thursday and a four-set loss to Saint Mary’s at home on Saturday.  The Waves have now lost four straight matches after starting the season a perfect 13-0.  Julie Rubenstein leads the team in kills with 332, kills per set with 4.26 and aces with 26.  Junior Rachel Lumsden ranks second on the team in kills with 217.  Freshman libero Stevi Robinson paces the team in digs with 333, while Kiah Fiers runs the offense from the setter position.  The junior has amassed a team-best 566 assists as Pepperdine has hit .264 as a team.  Kim Hill is the team’s leading blocker, totaling 79 blocks on eight solos and 71 assists.  She also leads the squad in hitting percentage at .353.  Rubenstein, also a force at the net on defense, leads the team in solo blocks with 11.  Head coach Nina Matthies is in her 26th year at the helm of the program.

“DAY”-LY DOUBLE…DOUBLE…
Senior Emily Day has collected a WCC-best 14 double-doubles entering this week of play, having recorded one in each of the last two matches.  In addition, she places first in the conference, and 16th in the nation, in kills with 359 at a rate of 4.33, and first in the WCC with 414 points.  Her 24 service aces at a .29 rate rank seventh, while her 241 digs at a rate of 2.90 digs per set rank eighth in the WCC.  In conference matches alone, Day is first in kills (143 total/4.21 per set) and points (164 total/4.82 per set).  Day is the team leader in attacks (976), kills (359), service aces (24) and digs (241), is second in block solos (16), and third in total blocks (46).

SOPHOMORE SLUMP?…MORE LIKE SOPHOMORE SUCCESS…
Sophomore Becky Stehling is having another stellar campaign after turning in an impressive freshman season last year.  The native of Austin, Texas currently leads the team in attack percentage at .373, block solos with 19, and total blocks with 57.  Her attack percentage places her 30th in the nation in that category, while also putting her fourth in the West Coast Conference.  In WCC matches alone, she ranks third in attack percentage with a .399 mark.

HOMETOWN GIRLS…
The Lions own a 184-67 overall record at home under Head Coach Steve Stratos over his 18+ years at the helm of the program, including an 8-5 mark at home this season.  So far this year, LMU has hit .260 (649-219/1654) at home compared to .194 (425-189/1214) on the road and at neutral sites.  LMU is 4-6 in matches away from LMU.  The Lions’ kill leader, Emily Day, also shows the same pattern of success at home.  She has totaled 211 kills at a .232 pace in home matches while amassing 148 kills and a hitting percentage of .172 in all other matches.  Looking solely at road matches and ignoring neutral matches, LMU is 0-6 on the road.  The Lions have hit .160 (216-110/661) over those six losses, as their opponents have managed a .278 mark.

WEST COAST CONFERENCE CHATTER…
With only three weeks remaining in the regular season, San Francisco and San Diego are tied for the top spot in the conference and will face off this week for control of first place.  Looking to gain ground on the title race are Santa Clara and Saint Mary's, who are tied for third place, and will trade off hosting Gonzaga and Portland this week.  Saint Mary’s’ Shannon Lowell was named this week’s West Coast Conference Player of the Week.  Lowell was key to the Gaels' success as Saint Mary's went 2-0 on the road against two tough opponents.  She led the team in kills, blocks and hitting percentage, averaging 4.11 kills and 1.22 blocks per set, with a .471 hitting efficiency.  Lowell totaled 37 kills, 11 blocks, nine digs, and one ace while playing the middle blocker position.  Against Loyola Marymount, Lowell tagged a career-high and tied the match-high with 21 kills.  Against then-No. 19 Pepperdine, Lowell continued right where she left off, posting a team-high 16 kills on 29 swings for a .379 attack percentage.  Four West Coast Conference women's volleyball teams are now ranked in national polls.  Moving up in the polls were San Diego, to No. 14, and Santa Clara, to No. 22.  Pepperdine at No. 23 and San Francisco at No. 25 round out the final two WCC ranked teams.  Also staying in the hunt to be ranked is Saint Mary's, who received 28 votes this week.  Several players in the WCC rank among the nation's best in several categories.  Notable leaders are Kapua Kamana'o (SMC) and Jessica Nyrop (USD), who are seventh and 15th in assists per game, while Emily Day (LMU) and Julie Rubenstein (PEP) are 16th and 19th in kills per set.  USF's Alix Gombos and Carly Babin continue to be one and two in the conference in hitting percentage and are sixth and 16th in the country.  As a team, San Diego ranks eighth in assists per set and ninth in kills per set.

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 fifth in total attacks (3,844), sixth in kill average at 3.56, kills (1,396), eighth in digs (1,096), and 10th in dig average (2.80).  She sits just one service ace and five solo blocks from the top-10, and one set played, 18 kills, 50 attacks and 64 digs from the next closest spot in the All-Time books.  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 2,078 assists in less than two years of play, ranking sixth 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.

STEHLING’S SPECTACULAR WEEK…
Sophomore middle blocker Becky Stehling played a large role in leading the Lions to their 2-0 week from October 13 to 19.  Stehling played in all seven sets, starting both matches for the Lions, hitting a team-best .561 over the span with 23 kills and no errors on 41 attacks.  In addition, she amassed a team-high tying two service aces, two block solos, seven digs and five total blocks on the week.  She averaged 3.29 kills per set, 0.29 aces per set, 1.00 dig per set and 0.71 blocks per set in the two matches.  On Thursday versus Portland, she tallied 10 kills on 17 attacks for a .588 hitting percentage, one assist, two service aces and three total blocks (a block solo and two block assists).  In Saturday’s match against Gonzaga, Stehling hit .542 (13-for-24) with four digs, a block solo and a block assist.  Her 13 kills against the Bulldogs matched her career high, marking the third time she has totaled that many this season.

DIGGING HER WAY TO HISTORY…
Emily Day recorded her 1,000th career dig in the first set of the loss to Santa Clara on October 2.  Day collected her 1,000th career kill against Saint Mary’s on November 17, 2007, and with the dig, she joined Kim Blankinship (1993-96), Deanna Doolittle (1990-93), Heather Hughes (2004-07), Kealani Kimball (2000-03), Christianna Reneau (2005-07) and Leslie Wohlford (1985-88) in the elite 1,000 kills/1,000 digs club.  She is just the ninth player in LMU history to collect 1,000 career digs.

DAY NAMED WCC PLAYER OF THE WEEK…
Senior Emily Day was named WCC Player of the Week for her efforts in LMU's only match over the week of September 22-28, a sweep of Cal State Bakersfield on September 26 in Gersten Pavilion.  Day, who has been named WCC Player of the Week four times in her career, received the accolade much earlier this season than in the past.  The native of Torrance, Calif. had been awarded the honor in November of each of her previous three seasons.  Day became the first Lion honored by the WCC this season after guiding LMU to an impressive victory over the Roadrunners.  She played in all three sets for the Lions on the week, collecting a match-best 17 kills at a match-high, and career-best, .680 clip (17-0/25).  Day also posted an assist, a match-high three service aces, a block solo, a block assist and six digs.  Overall, she averaged one service ace, two digs and .67 blocks per set in the match against Bakersfield, and on the week, for LMU.

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 371-189, 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 172-89, for a .659 winning percentage.  With 172 career conference victories, Stratos again ranks second among active coaches in the WCC.