Nov. 20, 2004
Box Score Roland Hu (USD Media Relations)
(Los Angeles, CA) - West Coast Conference Champs San Diego continued its dominance of league opponents Friday night, defeating host Loyola Marymount in five games at LMU's Gersten Pavilion. No. 15 San Diego (20-4, 13-0 WCC), winners of 14 consecutive matches, can complete a perfect WCC campaign with a victory over Pepperdine tonight. Devon Forster powered a Torero attack that overcame an early deficit to hand the Lions (16-10, 7-6 WCC) a 3-2 loss by scores of (26-30, 31-29, 28-30, 30-20 and 16-14). San Diego has clinched its first WCC Championship since winning back-to-back titles in 1997 and 1998.
Entering tonight's match with Loyola Marymount, San Diego was riding a 13-match winning streak and looking to finish out the West Coast Conference with an unblemished record. However, the Lions were not going to go down without a fight and they had a loud and boisterous crowd to cheer their every move. With a diverse offensive attack, lead by star senior middle blocker Kelli Nerison, the host team had every intention to pull off the upset.
Despite a valiant effort by the Lions. the Toreros proved to be too tough to overcome, as the visiting team took the match in a nail-biting five games. Head Coach Jennifer Petrie acknowledged the difficulty of playing at the Gersten Pavilion, notorious for having the rowdiest fans in the WCC.
"LMU at home is always a tough team. I liked the fact that we gutted it out, that we had no doubt in ourselves, and we kept our confidence," exclaimed a clearly relieved and jubilant Petrie. "They have the toughest fans in the conference. They are very vocal and I think our girls handled the pressure really well tonight."
Chimed in middle blocker Emily Haas, "We didn't play our best game, but we stuck together as a team and... it was a good game to play before the [NCAA] tournament."
Capitalizing on poor passing and uncharacteristic hitting errors by San Diego, Loyola Marymount took a 2-1 game lead mid-way through the night. However, behind the leadership of seniors Devon Forster and Kristen Hurst, the Toreros clawed their way back into the match to snatch a hard-earned victory away from the Lions. Despite facing a big block put up by the home team on every swing, Forster was unfazed and hammered home a match-leading 27 kills. Hurst encountered some difficulties with the block throughout the night, but she came through heroically for her team when the pressure was on, contributing 15 kills and 11 digs on the night. The sophomore middle blocker duo of Christie Dawson and Emily Haas chipped in 11 and 12 kills, respectively, to round out the Torero offense. Although Haas had a rough time offensively early in match, she really stepped up her game in the latter stages to help secure the Torero victory.
Game One began with neither team willing to relinquish a lead. Tied at 8-all, a kill by Kelli Nerison began a 4-0 run by the LMU that gave them the lead for good. The Loyola Marymount lead ballooned to 22-14, thanks in part to a potent Lion offense and a series of Torero errors. The game was not over yet, however, as junior setter Lindsey Sherburne orchestrated a flurry of San Diego kills to bring her squad within two points at 25-27. Unfortunately for USD, an eight-point deficit was just too much to overcome, as LMU took a 30-26 victory on a Jania Mooton kill.
Continuing their strong play from the opening frame, Loyola Marymount staked an early 4-1 lead in Game Two with a pair of Nerison bombs. San Diego battled back to tie the game at 8-apiece and then Jackie Bernardin took her place behind the service line. Like she has done all year long, the junior libero's hard jumper disrupted the Lion's serve receive and as a result, USD took an 11-8 lead before a LMU timeout to tried to stop the momentum. However, the Toreros continued to roll, eventually reaching a 25-19 advantage. Even with a six-point lead, San Diego was not in the clear yet. Nerison was a force up at the net, as her offense was pivotal in LMU's improbable comeback. A Haas hitting error tied the game up at 26 and the two teams traded points until a kill by Dawson and a blocking error by LMU gave San Diego the 31-29 win in Game Two.
A long rally high-lighted by diving digs on both sides opened up the first point of Game Three, as a Haas kill gave San Diego the early 1-0 lead. Haas continued to play well early on, as her hard spikes allowed USD to keep pace with LMU. In a game characterized by 19 lead changes and 20 ties, no team was able to dominate. After matching the Toreros point for point in the early going, the Lions began to pull away late in the game. After watching LMU build a slim 23-20 lead, Forster took matters into her own hands, as three kills by the Boulder (Colo.) native tied the game up at 24-all. San Diego and LMU continued to exchange points until an LMU kill and a Haas error enabled the Lions to prevail in Game Three, 30-28.
In the beginning stages of Game Four, Dawson helped San Diego to a 3-0 lead with a kill and a solo block. The Toreros continued to push the tempo and after tough defense by Bernardin resulted in Sherburne winning a joust up at the net for a 10-5 San Diego lead, Loyola Marymount called a timeout. While the break proved to help LMU out tremendously, an injury to their star player would ultimately be their downfall in the fourth game. After pummeling a set to get the Lions within two points at 12-14, Nerison landed awkwardly on her foot and appeared to sprain her ankle. She was helped off the court and did not return in Game Four. Clearly rattled by their injured teammate, Loyola Marymount watched helplessly as San Diego went on a 13-3 scoring spree that put the game out of reach. After a blast from Dawson, San Diego tied up it up with a 30-20 victory, sending the match to a fifth and deciding set.
Fortunately for the Lions, Nerison appeared in the line-up in Game 5 after re-taping her foot. To counter the return of LMU's middle blocker, USD picked up their offensive and defensive intensity in the final frame. Forster got things off to a good start for the Toreros, as a smartly placed tip scored the first point of the final game. As in the third game, both teams were unable to build any substantial leads. Every time San Diego would score a point, LMU would be right there to respond with a point of their own. Whether it was an amazing one-handed dig from Bernardin or a devastating kill from Forster, San Diego was determined to win the match at all costs. After the first 26 points resulted in 13 ties and 13 lead changes, the Toreros came upon their first match point at 14-13 due to a ball-handling error by Loyola Marymount's Nicole Oehlman. A serve by freshman outside hitter Erin Wiskar resulted in an overpass in which Forster slammed down with authority to seemingly end the match. However, the officials determined that Forster had touched the net and the game was tied once again at 14-14. A Sherburne kill on the next play set-up another Torero match point and a Haas serve produced another overpass for Forster to put away. However, unlike on the previous match point, Forster made sure it was a clean kill and when the ball hit the ground on LMU's side, her squad escaped with a narrow 16-14 Game Five victory.
In addition to her difficult serves that produced 4 aces, Bernardin was solid in the back-row, picking up 21 digs. Running the Torero offense to the tune of a .264 hitting percentage, Sherburne distributed her sets nicely among the USD hitters, ending up with 63 assists. The junior out of Saratoga (Calif.) also ended up with 6 kills and 18 digs. Subbing in for a struggling Haas in the first two games, freshman Moira McCarthy established herself as a future star in the middle for San Diego, as six of her seven attempts resulted in kills.
With the win over Loyola Marymount (16-10, 7-6 WCC), San Diego improves to 20-4 on the season and 13-0 in conference play. Having not lost a match since a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Long Beach State on September 21, USD will attempt to obtain that elusive perfect WCC record when they visit Pepperdine University Saturday night. Not only would a victory over the Waves make it the first time a Torero squad has ever gone unscathed in the difficult WCC, but it would also do wonders for their NCAA hopes come December.
"We clinched the conference title, but really, we want to continue to be undefeated," explains Petrie. "Also, we would love to host the first and second round of the tournament in San Diego. In order to do that, you have to be one of the top 16 teams in the country and winning these matches is crucial to get that seed."
