SportsScope : Loyola Marymount Lady Spikers End Year Sizzling but Can’t Capture WCAC Title

The Loyola Marymount University women’s volleyball team, riding a five-match winning streak that has carried the Lions to second place in the West Coast Athletic Conference, will close out the conference season at home at 7:30 tonight against St. Mary’s and at 5 p.m. Saturday against the University of San Diego. The Lions, 15-15 overall, are 8-4 in conference and haven’t lost a game in their last four WCAC matches. They won a non-conference match at Long Beach State in five games Tuesday. The surge has come with improved front-line play from Tiffany Miller (276 kills), Lori Rodman (237) and Leslie Wohlford (292) as well as the back-line play of Cathy Petrissans (.304 hitting percentage in WCAC).

Loyola can’t catch league-leading Pepperdine, which is 12-0.

The Cal State Dominguez Hills women’s volleyball team will conclude the season with a non-conference home match against San Francisco State at 5 p.m. Saturday. The Lady Toros lost at Cal State Los Angeles on Tuesday to finish California Collegiate Athletic Assn. play at 1-11. They are 6-24 overall. San Francisco State began the week 18-7 overall and 11-1 in the Northern California Athletic Conference.

The Dominguez Hills women’s basketball team opens its season Saturday at 8 p.m. at Chico State. The Lady Toros play at Sonoma State on Monday and Fresno Pacific on Tuesday. Coach Alice Textor, 10-16 a year ago, returns four players who started at various times--forwards Michelle Jennings and Debra McGee, center Kathy Goggin and guard Angie Wells--and had what Textor calls her best recruiting year ever, signing freshmen Demetra Johnson and Carolyn Osato and community college transfer Tina Babi.

UCLA’s soccer team will travel to Nevada-Las Vegas at 1 p.m. Sunday to decide the NCAA Western Regional championship. The Bruins, 14-6-1, won their playoff opener, 1-0, Sunday over Fresno State on Peter Pelle’s late goal. UNLV advanced with a 1-0 victory over the University of San Francisco to raise its record to 14-5.

A 5-kilometer run/walk will be held Dec. 5 as a prelude to the Redondo Beach Super Bowl 10-K. The Los Angeles Raiders Pro Bowl 5-K, which will benefit United Way, will start at King Harbor. Similar runs are being held in other West Coast cities in association with NFL teams. Top runners will earn a trip to Hawaii for the Pro Bowl Championship Run on Feb. 6 and will attend the Pro Bowl the next day. The Raiders 5-K has a $12 entry fee, or $7 for ages 12 and younger. Race day registration is $15 and $10. There are awards for best and most outrageous costumes as well as top finishers in men’s and women’s categories, including a wheelchair division and centipedes. Raiders will be among the costume judges. Entry forms are available at the Raiders El Segundo offices.