Bomhack Leads Hurricanes Past Loyola
Sept. 7, 2007
CORAL GABLES, Fla.-Bridget Bomhack finished with 14 kills and 14 digs and Katie Gallagher recorded 41 assists in just three games as Miami swept Loyola Friday night, 3-0, on the first day of the Hurricane Invitational at the Knight Sports Complex.
Bomhack, playing against her sister Marcie, the head coach of Loyola, led all players in kills and recorded her third straight double-double.
“Bridget swung great tonight and really applied some things that we wanted to work on against this team,” head coach Nicole Lantagne Welch said. “It was great to see her use that to score.”
Genny Mayhew also had a strong night, recording 10 kills and 12 digs while Ariell Cooke tallied nine kills, two digs, three total blocks and a service ace.
“I also thought Ariell Cooke had a great match both offensively and defensively. She really turned up her game tonight.”
Cassie Loessberg continues to play well on the defensive end, recording 17 of the team’s 61 digs in addition to picking up three service aces.
For the third time this season, UM recorded double-digit total team blocks, finishing with 11 while Loyola had six in total. Ciara Michel led the Hurricanes at the net with one solo block and four block assists.
“We’ve focused a lot on our blocking and I felt very pleased with the strides we made tonight,” Lantagne Welch said. “We had a lot more success at the net and it was great to see them apply what we have been working on.”
The Hurricanes got on the board first with a 30-23 win in game one behind seven kills from Bomhack. As a team, UM recorded 19 kills in the game to just seven for the Ramblers. Mayhew and Michelle Bruin were the difference defensively, combining on 11 the team’s 16 digs.
Loyola got out to the early advantage in game two, taking a 10-4 lead before Miami won 15 of the next 24 points to tie the game at 19. UM’s momentum continued to carry them past the Ramblers, with the `Canes taking five of the next six points to go up 24-20. Loyola was able to bring the score to 25-24 before Miami finished the game winning five of the final six points to pick up the 30-25 victory. Mayhew led all players with four kills while Loessberg tallied a game-high nine digs.
Both teams remained close throughout game three until Miami broke a 19-all tie with an 8-3 run to go up 27-22. The Ramblers won the next three points, cutting the UM to just two. After a Miami timeout, the two teams traded the next four points, making the score 29-27. Loyola brought it to within one after a UM attack error before the Hurricanes finished the match with a crucial point at 29-28 to take the two-point victory.
UM will take the court at 12:30 p.m. Saturday when it takes on Brown in the second match of the day after Loyola squares off against Delaware in the opening match on day two of the Hurricane Invitational at 10 a.m.
Delaware 3, Brown 1
In the first match of the tournament, Delaware kept its record perfect with a 3-1 win over Butler in the Bears’ season-opener. The two teams split the first two matches before Delaware took control of the match, winning two straight games including a convincing 30-16 win in game four.
The Blue Hens (9-0) relied offensively on the duo of Michelle LaLonde and Colleen Walsh, with the pair combining on 27 of the team’s 62 kills. UD’s Megan Welch recorded 50 assists while Brown’s Natalie Meyers countered with 41 of her own. Brown’s Megan Toman led all hitters with 17 kills while Julie Mandolini-Trummel (11) and Lillie Cohn (10) also recorded double-digit kills for the Bears.
Defensively for Delaware, Stephanie Barry led five Blue Hens that finished with double-figure digs, recording 20 of her team’s 76 digs. Brown’s Katie Lapinski led all players with 29 digs while Toman also stood out defensively for the Bears with 20 digs of her own.
The biggest differential in the match came at the net where Delaware recorded 15 total team blocks to just two for Brown. Paige Erickson led the way with two solo blocks and eight block assists while Molly Rand chipped in with five total blocks.
Delaware won the first game of the day with a 30-25 victory over Brown behind Walsh’s five kills. Up 25-22 in game two, Brown won five of the next six points to even the match up at 1-1. Delaware rebounded in the third game with a 30-23 win behind five LaLonde kills to take the 2-1 advantage before sealing the win in the fourth game.
