SportsScope : Loyola Women Spikers Open Crown Defense at Gonzaga

The Loyola Marymount University women’s volleyball team will travel to Spokane on Friday to open defense of its West Coast Athletic Conference crown at Gonzaga. The Lions, 6-6, play at Portland on Saturday then return home to take on 15th-ranked Pepperdine at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Coach George Yamashita’s squad is coming off a third-place finish in a four-team tournament at the University of Nebraska. The Lions lost to Nebraska and Illinois but defeated Tennessee in four games. Junior outside hitter Leslie Wohlford was named to the all-tournament team and was also selected the WCAC player of the week. She leads the team with 82 kills, followed by Tiffany Miller and Lori Rodman with 54 apiece. Setter Seham Khalaf is among league leaders with an assist average of 9.26 per game.

Cal State Dominguez Hills women’s soccer team plays UC Irvine at home at 3 p.m. today, then will play host for its Toro Cup Tournament on Saturday and Sunday. The women will play the University of Denver at 2 p.m. Saturday and Santa Clara at 2 p.m. Sunday. UC Irvine is also in the tournament. The Dominguez women, 4-4-1, had a three-game winning streak snapped in Tuesday’s 5-1 loss at UC Santa Barbara. Michele Salas leads the attack with six goals.

Loyola Marymount’s soccer team will travel to the San Francisco area this weekend to start a three-game trip Sunday at St. Mary’s. The Lions, 3-4-2, play at San Jose State on Monday and at Santa Clara on Tuesday. Sophomore forward Steven Burke leads the Lions with five goals. Sophomore goalie Judd Bogust, filling in for injured senior Parker Schenken, recorded his first shutout last week, 1-0 against Pomona-Pitzer. Loyola freshman Tommy Stevenson scored his first goal.

The Dominguez Hills men’s soccer team, 1-6-1, finally broke into the win column as sophomore Joe Flanagan scored all four goals to set a school record in a 4-1 victory over Metropolitan State of Denver. Flanagan entered the week with six goals and two assists, rank1768843040Athletic Assn. The Toros play host to Westminster College at 1 p.m. today.

The All-Australian football team, playing American rules, will work out at Cal State Dominguez Hills on Sunday through Wednesday before a tour of Europe. The team is coached by former Rams Coach Ray Malavasi and John Johnson of the Dominguez Hills athletic department. Public practices will be held each day from 8 to 10 a.m. On Monday and Wednesday the team will also practice from 4 to 6 p.m. The team will return to the South Bay after playing six games in Europe to face a South Bay police team on Oct. 29 at Harbor College.

The Cal State Dominguez Hills women’s volleyball team opens California Collegiate Athletic Assn. play this week. The Lady Toros, 3-10, travel to defending NCAA Division II champ UC Riverside for a 3 p.m. Friday match. Riverside is rated seventh despite a 2-7 record.

Harbor College, 2-0 in the South Coast Athletic Conference football race, plays host to L. A. Valley at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. The Seahawks are 2-1 overall and had their best offensive showing last week, beating Victor Valley College, 49-21. Southwest College (1-2) plays at home at 1 p.m. Saturday against powerful Antelope Valley, which scored 70 points two weeks ago. Southwest, 0-2 in the SCAC, lost to L. A. Valley last week. El Camino College (3-0) has a bye and can rest on its No. 2 standing in the state.

UCLA’s soccer team, shocked twice in weekend games on the East Coast, returns home to face powerful Fresno State at 2 p.m Sunday. The Bruins (5-3), who had not lost two games in a row in several years, lost at Yale, 4-1, and Connecticut, 2-1, to give them a 2-2 road trip. Junior forward Nick Skvarna scored three goals on the trip. Fresno (7-1-1) was ranked No. 1 in the nation last week, but the Bulldogs lost to San Francisco, 1-0, over the weekend. Fresno defeated UCLA last season, 1-0, in the second round of the NCAA playoffs to end the Bruins’ 39-game unbeaten streak. The Bulldog offense is led by forward Femi Olukani, who has six goals and two assists.

The 14th annual McDonald’s Bike Ride Against Diabetes will take place Oct. 18 on 60 routes throughout Southern California, including several around the South Bay. Riders recruit sponsors to make pledges per mile ridden, with proceeds going to the American Diabetes Assn. Sponsor sheets are available at McDonald’s restaurants.