Loyola Women Spikers Challenge for 2nd in WCAC Against Gonzaga and Portland

The Loyola Marymount University women’s volleyball team, with a shot at second place in the West Coast Athletic Conference, plays conference matches at home tonight against Gonzaga and Friday against Portland. Both begin at 7:30 p.m. in Gersten Pavilion. Loyola, 10-15 overall, is 4-4 in the WCAC and tied with Portland. They trail Pepperdine (8-0) and Santa Clara and San Francisco, both 5-4. Gonzaga is 3-5. A month ago Loyola defeated Gonzaga in Spokane but lost at Portland.

CIF volleyball playoffs continue tonight with openers in the 5-A, 3-A and Small Schools divisions. Games involving South Bay teams: Estancia at third-ranked Mira Costa in 5-A, San Marino at Redondo and Miraleste at Villa Park in 3-A and Chadwick plays at Linfield Christian at 5:30 in Small Schools. Matches are scheduled at 7:30 unless otherwise noted.

CIF girls team tennis playoffs begin today with matches starting at 2 p.m. In 4-A, top seed Miraleste is at Glendale, Hoover is at Mira Costa, South Torrance is at Capistrano Valley, El Toro is at fourth-seeded Rolling Hills, Palos Verdes is at El Modena, Torrance is at Santa Barbara and Redondo is at Arcadia. In a 3-A opener, Woodbridge is at Bishop Montgomery.

The UCLA men’s soccer team closes the regular season with a 2 p.m. game Sunday against Cal State Los Angeles on the Bruins’ North Soccer Field. UCLA, 11-5-1, defeated Notre Dame, 3-2, on Jeff Hooker’s penalty kick in overtime in last weekend’s Met Life Classic but lost the finale to top-rated Indiana, 2-1. Cal State entered the week with a 6-7-2 record and a three-game winning streak.

Cal State Dominguez Hills’ women’s volleyball team goes on the road Friday for a 7:30 p.m. match at 19th-ranked Cal State Bakersfield. The Lady Toros, 6-20 overall and 1-7 in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn., have won two of their last four matches. Pam Paulson leads the team with 45 kills in CCAA matches.

The Vietnam Veterans Aid Foundation and Westchester Elks Lodge 2050 will present the first Wheelchair Veterans Bowling Tournament at 7 p.m. Saturday at Gable House Bowl, 22501 Hawthorne Blvd., Torrance.