PORTLAND, Ore. --- The University of Portland volleyball team dropped a 3-1 (30-24, 30-23, 24-30, 30-26) match to the Loyola Marymount Lions in the Chiles Center Saturday afternoon. Portland falls to 8-14 (1-8 WCC) while LMU improves to 17-7 (5-4 WCC).
Junior Nicole Thometz (13 kills) led three Portland players with double-digit kills with sophomore Jenn Sheedy contributing 12 kills and freshman Betsy Grasham recording a career high 10 kills. Senior Murphy McClenahan had 18 digs to lead the Pilot defense while Thometz added 16 digs to record her team-leading sixth double-double. Junior setter Kara Pein also notched her team-leading sixth double-double, finishing with 40 assists and 12 digs to go along with a pair of kills and two blocks.
For the Lions, Heather Hughes tallied a match-high 18 kills while Christianna Reneau had a match-high 24 digs. Both Hughes and Reneau had double-doubles—Hughes with 18 kills and 13 digs and Reneau with 14 kills and 24 digs. Sandy Krone narrowly missed a double-double of her own, tallying 11 kills and nine digs.
In game one, Loyola Marymount took a 9-8 lead early in the early going and never looked back, keeping Portland at arms-length the rest of the game, at one point building a 20-11 advantage. The Pilots cut the score to 24-20 but were unable to overcome the difference and lost 30-24.
Game two was similar to the first frame. Loyola Marymount took an early 10-9 lead that the team did not relinquish. The Pilots kept the game close, threatening to get back into contention several times, but Loyola kept its advantage with timely kills by Hughes and Reneau.
It was a complete role-reversal after the break, with Portland taking an early 10-9 lead and running all the way to the 30-24 win. The Pilots had a balanced attack in the game with five different players recording multiple kills as they cut Loyola Marymount’s overall lead to 2-1.
Portland nearly forced a fifth game, but fell just short in game four. After fighting back from an early five point deficit at 4-9, the Pilots tied the game at 12-12 on a block by junior Kara Pein and sophomore Ashley Grayson. The Lions then took over, surging to a 21-14 lead. But the resilient Pilots once again fought back behind the strength of their work at the net. After three consecutive Portland blocks cut the Lion lead to 27-24, an attack error put the Pilots within two points at 27-25. Portland kept frustrating the Loyola Marymount attack, stuffing several attacks at the net over the game’s tense final points, but the Lions remained calm and were able to escape with a 30-26 victory.
Portland had 14 blocks for the match, with Grayson tallying eight blocks (one solo) and Sheedy pitching in five (one solo). Grasham, making her second consecutive start in place of injured junior Kelly Whitehouse, also added five block assists. Loyola Marymount had eight blocks on the match.
The Pilots had a good game defensively, holding Loyola Marymount (which leads the WCC in kills per game and ranks seventh nationally in the statistic) to a .145 hitting percentage. But the Pilots also struggled with the attack, finishing with a .121 mark.
Individually for the Pilots, Grayson added seven kills to go along with her seven blocks and freshman Maria Clemens had five kills and nine digs.
Portland travels to Spokane, Wash., for its next WCC match, facing off against Pacific Northwest rival Gonzaga. That game is set to take place at 1:00 p.m. on Nov. 4.
