Oct. 2, 2004

Box Score

Moraga, CA - The Saint Mary's volleyball team opened West Coast Conference play with a 3-1 victory over Loyola Marymount on Friday night at McKeon Pavilion. Coming off an exciting victory over No. 11 Stanford on Tuesday, the Gaels bounced back after losing the first game and took the final three games. With the win the Gaels improve to 1-0 in conference and 12-1 on the season.

"It was an impressive win for us. We learned and implemented difficult and critical adjustments," head coach Jon Stevenson said. "We learned on the go, they had to or they would have lost the match."

Saint Mary's lost the first game 22-30, but bounced back with 30-28, 30-21, and 30-23 victories. Loyola Marymount fell to 0-1 in conference and 8-5 on the season. The Gaels have beaten the Lions three out of the last four meetings.

The Gaels were led by four players who recorded double-digits in kills. Senior Lindsey Bogason had 15 kills, Kaui Salzman had 14 kills, and Mariko Coverdale and Missie Stidham each had 13 kills. Sophomore Cassandra Kolkka had 17 digs and setter Mandy Bible had 55 assists, two aces and 10 digs.

"It's tough to come back with a conference match after beating a team like Stanford," Stevenson said.

Loyola Marymount was led by Heather Hughes, who had a game-high 21 kills and Krista Houseman added 14 kills.

As a team the Gaels recorded 21 blocks, 49 digs and 70 kills. In a critical Game 2 after dropping the first game, the Gaels recorded 20 kills with a .421 hitting percentage. Also, after playing libero in Game 1, Stidham switched to outside hitter in Game 2, where she recorded 13 kills in three games.

Saint Mary's returns to action on Saturday, October 2, when they host Pepperdine at 7:05 p.m. at McKeon Pavilion.