Volleyball Begins Conference Play This Week
9/29/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
WHAT'S ON SCHEDULE: This week, the Saint Mary's women's' volleyball team begins conference play, traveling south to take on Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount. The Gaels begin the week in Malibu, playing the Waves at Firestone Fieldhouse, on Thursday, October 1 at 7:00 PM. SMC wraps up the week in Los Angeles facing the Lions at Gersten Pavilion on Saturday, October 3 at 1:00 PM.
WHO'S HOT: Freshman outside hitter Lauren Corp has been on a tear for the Gaels. Corp leads the team over the last three games with 37 kills, averaging a team-high 3.36 kpg. In the match against CSU Bakersfield last Friday, the freshman from Villa Park, CA, notched her second career double-double with 17 kills and 13 digs.
SCOUTING THE WAVES: Pepperdine comes into this weekend's match with an overall record of 7-5. However, the Waves have a 1-4 record in their last five matches, and currently have lost three-straight. At home, Pepperdine boasts a 4-2 record at Firestone Fieldhouse. In 40 games played, the Waves have recorded 518 kills, averaging 12.95 kpg, and have an attack percentage of .224. The Waves average 12.15 apg, and 1.84 bpg. Defensively, they have held their opponents to 468 kills, 11.70 kpg, and a .183 attack percentage. Pepperdine is led by sophomore outside hitter Lilla Frederick, who has 127 kills, 63 errors on 352 total attempts for a .182 attack percentage, she's averaging 3.17 kpg which is tops on the team. Defensively, the Waves are led by a pair of underclassmen, freshman middle blocker Victoria Adelhelm leads the team with 31 total blocks, averaging 0.82 bpg. Sophomore middle blocker Kristen Seaton is second on the team with 29 total blocks, averaging 0.76 bpg. Setting the table for the Waves is senior Kiah Fiers, Fiers has notched 406 assists, averaging 10.15 apg.
VERSUS THE WAVES: In the last five years the Gaels are five and five against the Waves, in the last two years the two teams have split the season series. In 2008, the Gaels went 1-1 against Pepperdine, losing the first match of the season at home in five sets (22-25, 25-23, 25-17, 26-28 and 10-15). However, later that year, at Firestone Fieldhouse, the Gaels defeated then No. 19 Pepperdine in four sets (25-19, 25-23, 14-25, 25-19).
SCOUTING THE LIONS: Loyola Marymount comes into the match sporting a 9-5 record. The Lions have lost two straight, but are 3-1 this season at Gerston Pavilion. The young team has no seniors and just two juniors. Leading the attack for the Lions is Alaina Bergsma, who has 193 kills, a .227 attack percentage and averages 4.02 kpg. Setting the attack for LMU is sophomore Alesha Young, who has recorded 469 assists on the year, averaging 9.20 apg. Defensively, freshman middle blocker Kenna Crouse leads the team with 31 total blocks, averaging 0.76 bpg. As a team, LMU has tallied 686 kills, averaging 13.45 kpg, and 12.57 apg and 1.73 bpg. Their opponents are averaging 12.10 kpg and hitting .204 against them.
IN THE POLLS: For the second straight week, and third time this season, the Gaels are receiving votes in the AVCA Coaches Top-25 Poll. Currently, the Gaels are receiving nine votes.
NATIONAL RANKINGS: Through September 27, the Gaels have put up some impressive numbers that rank in the top-50 nationally. Out of 329 NCAA Division I teams, the Gaels rank 24th in assists per game with 12.93, they rank 21st in kills per game with 13.90, 27th in hitting percentage with 0.262, and 32nd in the country in blocks per game at 2.54.
MORE NATIONAL RANKINGS: Junior middle blocker Shannon Lowell ranks 51st out of 250 players in the country in blocks per game. The native of San Jose, CA is currently averaging 1.20 blocks per game. Senior Libero Alita Fisher currently ranks 75th in the country out of 250 players in digs per game with 4.38.
WHITE HOT: Against No. 11 Stanford last Saturday, freshman Missy White did not disappoint in her first career start for the Gaels. The setter notched her first career double-double, 20 assists (a career-high) and 12 digs (also a career-high). For good measure, she also added a kill and an ace.
LEADING THE WCC: As of September 28, the Gaels currently lead the WCC in three categories, SMC is tops in hitting percentage with a .262 attack percentage, they are also sitting atop the WCC in blocks per game averaging 2.54 and kills per game, averaging 13.90 kpg.
CONFERENCE ROUNDUP: The Gaels are second in the conference in assists, averaging 12.93 a game. SMC ranks third in the league in digs per game with a 14.77 dpg average and opponents hitting percentage with a .195 percentage.
DEFENDING THE NET: Middle blockers Shannon Lowell and Megan Burton currently rank first and fifth in the conference in blocks. Lowell is tops in the conference with 1.20 bpg, while Burton ranks fifth, with 1.03 bpg.
CORP ON THE ATTACK: Freshman outside hitter Lauren Corp currently ranks third in the conference in points, averaging 4.09 ppg, and fourth in kills, with 3.50 kpg.
LAST TIME OUT: Last week, the Gaels hosted the Roadrunners of CSU Bakersfield for the non-conference finale. Saint Mary's won the match in straight sets (25-15, 25-19, 25-21), finishing in under and hour and a half. The Gaels were led by freshman Lauren Corp who notched her second career double-double with 17 kills and 13 digs. The 17 kills in the three sets is fourth most in the conference for a three set match.
Also having a strong night for Saint Mary's was sophomore outside hitter Chanteal Satele who recorded 15 kills on the game. Kapua Kamana'o had a team-high 22 assists.
GAELS PICKED THIRD: The Saint Mary's women's volleyball team was picked to finish third in the WCC according to the 2009 pre-season coaches poll.
The Gaels were given one first place vote and finished with 37 points, one behind Pepperdine.
The University of San Diego has been selected as the preseason favorite to take home the 2009 West Coast Conference regular season title, receiving the remaining seven first place votes.
GAELS PLACE THREE ON PRE-SEASON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM: Senior middle blocker Megan Burton, junior middle blocker Shannon Lowell and junior setter Kapua Kamana'o were all selected to the 2009 Pre-Season All-West Coast Conference Team. With the three selections, Saint Mary's had the most players on the pre-season all-conference team.
GAELS FACE TOP NOTCH TEAMS: Once again, head coach Rob Browning has put together a tough non-conference schedule to get the team ready for the extremely competitive WCC. The Gaels will play three teams ranked or receiving votes in the AVCA Pre-Season Top-25 Poll, including back-to-back matches at No. 6 California and at No. 5 Stanford. The Gaels will host Texas A&M at McKeon Pavilion for their 2009 home opener, the Aggies are currently receiving 43 votes. In conference play, the Gaels will have to contented with No. 15 San Diego, No. 25 Santa Clara, Pepperdine (75 votes), and San Francisco (8 votes).
SETTING THE TABLE: Junior setter Kapua Kamana'o has had an outstanding junior season setting up the Gaels attack. Currently, Kamana'o ranks fourth in the conference with 355 assists, averaging 9.10 apg.
DIGGING IT OUT: Senior libero Alita Fisher and junior Megan York ranked one and three all-time in digs per game at Saint Mary's, respectively. Fisher is first all-time with a 3.76 digs per game, and York is third all-time with 3.36 dpg. In 2009, the duo currently ranks fourth and ninth in the WCC. Fisher ranks fourth averaging 4.38 dpg, while York ranks ninth with 2.92 dpg.
NEXT WEEK: Next week, the Gaels return to the friendly confines of McKeon Pavilion, as they host rivals Santa Clara and USF. The Gaels will host the Broncos on Thursday, October 8 at 7:00 PM. The Dons come into town on Saturday, October 10, at 7:00 PM. The match against USF will be the annual "Dig Pink" event to help raise money for breast cancer research.
LAST SEASON'S RECAP: The 2008 season saw a return to the NCAA tournament for Saint Mary's, the fourth time in six years, as the team finished the year posting a 20-8 record. The 20 wins are tied for the second most in program history and it was the first time SMC has won 20 games since 2004. Highlighting the season were four wins over top-25 teams, including two thrilling road wins over No. 19 Pepperdine 3-1 and No. 13 San Diego 3-1. Saint Mary's opened the season winning back-to-back in-season tournaments, capturing the Fresno State Tournament and the Sacramento State Tournament titles. The Gaels closed out the 2008 season winning 10 of their final 14 matches, including a stretch of six in a row, earning them a trip to the NCAA Tournament, where they played New Mexico State in the opening round. The Gaels battled hard but unfortunately were unable to come away with the win, losing the final match of the season 3-1.
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Tuesday, December 02
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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
