Sept. 2, 2000
TEMPE, Ariz. -- The No. 23 Loyola Marymount Lions proved to be just too much for the Arizona State volleyball team, sweeping the Sun Devils in three games in the final game of the 2000 Phoenix Airport Hilton/Sun Devil Challenge held at Wells Fargo Arena.
The Sun Devils finished the tournament 1-2 with a win coming Friday evening in a five-game thriller against Cal Poly. LMU finished the tournament a perfect 3-0 after defeating ASU by scores of 15-6, 17-15, 15-9.
Sarah McFarland was the thorn in the side of the Sun Devils Saturday with a match and tournament high 32 kills. The 6-6 senior outside hitter from Michigan City, Ind., was named the tournament MVP by averaging 6.42 kills per game during the three games.
"She (McFarland) killed us today and just played excellent out there," said ASU head coach Patti Snyder-Park. "They were on today and we weren't. We made way too many unforced errors and didn't serve well. We have a lot to work on before our next tournament, but I did see some stuff I liked from our freshmen and Amanda Burbridge played real well this weekend and deserved the spot she got on the all-tournament team."
Burbridge, who turned 21 today, had 15 kills to lead ASU. The senior from Scottsdale tallied 31 kills the night before to rank seventh in ASU single-match history. For the tournament Burbridge averaged 5.38 kills per game (2nd) and 3.54 digs per game (2nd). She has recorded a double-double in each of ASU's contests this year.
Senior middle blocker Julia Leddy (Mesa) had eight kills and finished the tournament with a .446 hitting percentage to rank second in the tournament field.
ASU will take a day off before returning to practice and then travel to San Marcos, Texas to compete in the B&G Properties Invitational hosted by Southwest Texas. LMU (3-0) 15 17 15 ASU (1-2) 0 0 0 Statistical Leaders: KILLS: Sarah McFarland, LMU (31), Burbridge, ASU (15) ASSISTS: Nicole Oehlman, LMU (43), Cheryl Anglin, ASU (37) DIGS: Oehlman, LMU (10), Burbridge, ASU (10) BLOCK ASSISTS: Tiana Newsome, LMU (4), Robyn Mattingly, ASU (3) SERVICE ACES: Several with one Attendance: 523 --Go Sun Devils--
Copy by Jeff R. Evans
ASU Media Relations