Women's Volleyball to Play Portland, Gonzaga
11/11/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 11, 2002
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This Week: The Saint Mary's women's volleyball team will be departing for a two-match road trip on Thursday. The Gaels' first match of the weekend will be played on Friday, November 15 against the University of Portland in the Chiles Center at 7:05 p.m. On Saturday, November 16 the Gaels take on Gonzaga University at 7:05 p.m. in the Martin Centre.
National Honors: Sophomore middle blocker, Stacey O'Connor ranked fourth in the nation for blocks per game with 1.64 for games played through November 3. As a team, the Gaels rank 23rd in the nation with 2.82 blocks per game.
University of Portland Pilots: The Pilots are currenty 14-12 overall and 3-8 in West Coast Conference play. Most recently, the Pilots were swept by WCC opponent San Francisco. Prior to falling to the Lady Dons, Portland lost in three straight to #11 Santa Clara as well. In those matches, the Pilots were led by Sara Vercruyssen, who is averaging a team-best 3.25 kills per game. Vercruyssen hit a team high .286 against #11 Santa Clara, posting a team-best 15 kills. In the Pilots' match against USF, Vercruyssen ran away with team-high honors for the second straight night, posting 14 kills. Vercruyssen also posted six digs in both matches. Carlie Price did her part to control the opposition's outside hitters, posting a team-high 13 digs against the Lady Dons and nine against the Broncos. Price is currently averaging 5.04 digs per game. Also contributing for the Pilots is Sheena Surplus. Surplus posted a double-double against USF with 40 assists and 10 digs. When Portland matched up against #11 Santa Clara, Surplus managed 27 assists in the short three game match. Surplus is averaging 11.11 assists and 2.71 digs per game this season.
Gonzaga University Bulldogs: The Bulldogs are currently 4-21 overall and 2-9 in the WCC. The Bulldogs mirrored the Pilots' play last week, as Gonzaga was also swept by both Santa Clara and San Francisco. Despite the losses, the Bulldogs were able to post some impressive stats, thanks to the outstanding play of Abby Cullen and Missy Perry. Cullen did her best to hold the Bulldogs together last week, hitting .400 against #11 Santa Clara and .381 against San Francisco. Cullen posted 14 kills against the Broncos and 12 versus the Lady Dons, both of which were team-highs. Perry set up the majority of Cullen's kills as she posted 29 assists against the Broncos and 25 against USF. Perry leads the Bulldogs with 10.0 assists and 2.73 digs per game in WCC play.
Gaels' Post-Week Review: Saint Mary's (6-17/3-7 WCC) went 0-2 last week with losses to non-conference opponent Sacramento State (3-0) and WCC foe San Diego (3-1). Individual game scores for the Sacramento State match were 23-30, 18-30, and 23-30. Game scores for the USD match were 30-23, 20-30, 28-30, and 23-30. The Gael's had an off night against the Hornets, but rebounded and played much better against USD. In it's match against the Toreros the Gaels had spurts of greatness and seemed to overwhelm USD at times. The Gaels won a two-point decision in the first game and appeared quite confident against an impressive USD squad. Even when the Gaels lost the second game by a ten-point margin, they seemed undaunted by the stellar play of the Toreros. The Gaels' outside hitters continued to hammer the ball into USD's back row, while it's defensive players fearlessly dove underneath every USD attack effort. The Gaels seemed destined to prove that they had the heart and talent to play with anyone. Due to it's confident play, Saint Mary's built up a 28-25 lead in the third game, but couldn't close it out and lost 28-30. The Gaels continued to hustle, but were unable to regain their momentum and eventually lost the fourth and final game by a seven-point margin.
Player Notes: Jill Parmele played an excellent match against USD, providing the Gaels with confidence and a double-double. In the match against the Toreros, Parmele posted a .250 hitting percentage with 15 kills in 40 attempts. Defensively, Parmele posted a team-high 15 digs.
Lindsey Bogason played phenomenal against USD. Bogason put-away a team--high 20 kills and hit .314 in the match. Bogason also tallied six digs and two block assists against the Toreros. Bogason is leading the Gaels in kills per game with 3.74 in WCC action.
Brooke Lowry was solid in both matches last week. Aside from providing the Gaels with on-court leadership, Lowry posted 57 assists, eight digs and two block assists against USD. When Saint Mary's matched up against the Hornets, Lowry managed 35 assists and nine digs. Lowry is currently leading the Gaels with 11.68 assists per game in WCC matches.
Kaui Salzman posted a team-high 14 digs against USD and had a team-high 11 digs versus Sacramento State. Salzman is currently leading the Gaels with 3.42 digs per game in WCC play.
Rachel Avilla finished off a number of attacks against USD, posting 12 kills in the match. Avilla also tallied five digs and two block assists against the Toreros. When the Gaels played Sacramento State, Avilla contributed nine kills, four digs, and one block assist. Avilla is averaging 2.76 kills and 1.97 digs per game in WCC play.
Stacey O'Connor hit a team-high .357 against Sacramento State with five kills in 14 attempts and no errors. O'Connor posted six block assists versus USD. O'Connor ranked fourth in the nation for blocks per game with 1.64 for games played through November 3. O'Connor is currently averaging 1.63 blocks per game for all games played and 1.71 blocks per game in WCC play.
Meg Hauser and Erin Gravert also contributed last weekend. Hauser was all over the floor against USD, posting 10 digs in the match. Gravert tallied nine kills against USD and six versus the Hornets. Hauser currently averages 1.93 digs per game in WCC play, while Gravert is averaging 1.09 blocks per game and hitting .289 during WCC match-ups.
Where The Gaels Stand in the West Coast Conference: As a team, the Gaels currently rank first in the WCC for blocks per game with 3.22. Individually, the Gaels have several players ranked in the WCC's top-10 categories:
| Player | Place - Category (Average) |
| Stacey O'Connor | 1st Place - Blocks per game (1.71) |
| Brooke Lowry | 3rd Place - Assists per game (11.68) |
| Lindsey Bogason | 8th Place - Kills per game (3.74) |
| 6th Place - Blocks per game (1.16) | |
| 7th Place - Points per game (4.62) | |
| Erin Gravert | 8th Place - Blocks per game (1.03) |
| Kaui Salzman | 4th Place - Digs per Game (3.42) |
Meet the Coach: Jon Stevenson (UC Santa Barbara, 1980) is 6-17 in his first year as the head coach of the Saint Mary's volleyball program. Having coached at nearly every level, Stevenson brings a wealth of professional and collegiate experience to the Gaels. Stevenson joined the Association of Volleyball Professionals and played on the Professional Beach Volleyball Tour from 1980-96. During his 16 years on the tour, Stevenson won the 1984 Tour GranPrix Championship, was named "Sportsman of the Year" in 1985, and recorded a career-best six tournament wins in 1988. Stevenson was inducted into the California Beach Volleyball Hall of Fame, the Professional Beach Volleyball Hall of Fame in 1996, and the NIKE "Legends of Beach Volleyball" in 1997. Stevenson graduated from UC Santa Barbara in 1980 with a bachelor's degree in Psychology.
Next Week: The Gaels will return home for their final two matches. On Friday, November 22 the Gaels will play Loyola Marymount and on Saturday, November 23 they take on #10 Pepperdine. Both matches will begin at 7:05 p.m. in McKeon Pavilion.
VB | Tyler Hildebrand Season Wrap Up Press Conference, 12-2-25
Tuesday, December 02
VB | Highlights at Pepperdine, 11-29-25
Saturday, November 29
VB | Highlights at LMU, 11-26-25
Wednesday, November 26
VB | Tyler Hildebrand Postgame Presser vs. Washington State 2025
Saturday, November 22
