Santa Clara, Pepperdine, Arizona, Ohio Compete At Palo Alto Regional, FRIDAY-SAT

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Santa Clara, Pepperdine, Arizona, Ohio Compete At Palo Alto Regional

NCAA Tournament play continues at Maples Pavilion

Dec. 7, 2005

Friday, December 9, 2005, Maples Pavilion (Stanford University) Santa Clara (25-4) vs Pepperdine (19-11), 4:30 p.m. Arizona (24-5) vs Ohio (33-2), 7:00 p.m., 7:00 p.m.

Saturday, December 10, 2005, Maples Pavilion (Stanford University) Santa Clara/Pepperdine winner vs Arizona/Ohio winner, 8:00 p.m.

Stanford, Ca - Competition continues this Friday and Saturday in the 2005 NCAA Women's Volleyball Tournament. The Palo Alto Regional (held at Stanford's Maples Pavilion) will host four teams (Santa Clara, Arizona, Pepperdine, Ohio) which successfully won their first and second matches.

In the 4:30 p.m. match on Friday (Dec. 9), #11 Santa Clara will face #19 Pepperdine. Then at 7:00 p.m., #5 Arizona faces the challenge of #15 Ohio. The two winners will meet on Saturday at 8 p.m. for the right to compete at the NCAA Final Four on Dec. 15 and 17 in San Antonio, Texas.

Santa Clara reached the NCAA "Sweet 16" with victories over Sacramento State and Stanford last weekend at Maples Pavilion. The Broncos are 25-4 and have beaten Pepperdine twice this year. On Oct. 2 in Malibu, Santa Clara scored a 30-26, 25-30, 30-28, 30-23 decision. Then on Oct. 28 at Santa Clara, the Broncos scored a 30-25, 30-26, 31-29 verdict. Kim McGiven continues to lead the Santa Clara attack with 424 kills (4.16 kpg) while Brittany Lowe and Cassie Perret (West Coast Conference Player of the Year) have 359 (3.49 kpg)
and 342 (3.29 kpg) kills, respectively. Setter Crystal Matich is averaging 14.09 assists per game. This is Santa Clara's eighth straight trip to the NCAA Tournament. Pepperdine is 19-11, and reached the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament play with victories over Brigham Young and USC. Sophia Milo leads the Waves in hitting percentage (.338) and in blocks per game (1.41 bpg) while Julie Rubenstein's 4.18 kills per game, Melissa Mehlhorn's 12.09 assists per game and Kekai Crabbe's 3.59 digs per game are all team highs.

Pepperdine is making its 17th overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament and eighth in the last nine years.

Arizona is 24-5 and reached the NCAA "Sweet 16" with wins over Utah State and Utah last weekend. The wildcats are led by senior Kim Glass, who averages 5.35 kills, 3.01 digs, 0.80 blocks and 0.39 service aces per game.

Jennifer Abernathy adds 4.09 kills and 3.38 digs per game. This is Arizona's seventh appearance in the "Sweet 16", and fifth in the last seven seasons. Ohio is ranked #15 in the nation. The Bobcats are 33-2, setting the school and Mid-American Conference records for wins in a season. Ohio has won 25 straight matches. This is Ohio's third appearance in the NCAA Tournament and first ever trip to the "Sweet 16". Ohio has four players that average 3.00 or more kills, led by Julie Winkfield with 3.85. Stephanie Blackburn and Melissa Griffin each add 3.63 kills per game, while Holly Schetzsle averages 3.24. Setter Savanah Parra ranks second in the nation in assists per game (14.86).

Tickets for the Palo Alto Regional are available by calling 1-800-STANFORD $25 - Adult reserved (2-day) $16 - Adult general admission (2-day) $10 - Student/child/senior general admission (2-day) $15 - Adult reserved (single day) $10 - Adult general admission (single day) $6 - Student/child/senior general admission (single day)