Oct. 8, 2005

Box Score

Moraga, CA - After slipping past Loyola Marymount on Friday night, the Saint Mary's volleyball team picked up its performance on Saturday night and played an outstanding match in a 3-1 victory over Pepperdine at McKeon Pavilion. The Gaels beat the Waves for the third consecutive time, and the second straight at McKeon Pavilion.

The Gaels set the tone early against the Waves, winning the first game 30-12. After slipping in the second game 29-31, the Gaels bounced back with 30-24 and 30-27 victories.

With the win the Gaels improve to 12-3 on the season and 3-0 during West Coast Conference play. Pepperdine fell to 9-7 overall and 2-2 in the WCC.

"Pepperdine is a very good team and anytime you can beat a team like Pepperdine, it's good," Head Coach Rob Browning said. "All of our conference wins are big, but this is our first really big win of the year."

The Gaels were led by sophomore outside hitter Missie Stidham, who recorded a match-high 27 kills with a .397 hitting percentage. Stidham also added 15 digs and had several critical serves as the Gaels rallied past the Waves in the fourth game.

Saint Mary's also received solid performances by Kaui Salzman and Christina Kirk. Salzman recorded 16 kills, added 16 digs and had five blocks. Kirk was impressive in the middle, recording 13 blocks and added 11 kills.

The Gaels also received a solid match from Mandy Bible, who had 46 assists, 10 blocks and two aces and libero Lyndsey Parker had 16 digs.

"We made two errors in the first game and that's the way we've been trying to play for two weeks," Browning said.

As a team, the Gaels, the nation's second leading blocking team, recorded 21 blocks, compared to Pepperdine's 12 blocks. Saint Mary's also held Pepperdine to a .139 hitting percentage and recorded 76 digs. Saint Mary's hit .253 as a team, including hitting a .452 mark in the first game.

The Gaels return to action on Friday, October 14 when they travel to Portland to face the Pilots at 7:05 p.m. Saint Mary's will then face Gonzaga on Saturday, October 15 at 7:05 p.m.