COLLEGES / ALAN DROOZ : Dominguez Hills Tourney a Top Draw

Cal State Dominguez Hills will be the site of one of the nation’s premier Division II women’s volleyball fields this week when it plays host to the nine-team Dominguez Hills Invitational Tournament.

The two-day tourney features five of the top 20 teams in Division II, led by No. 1-ranked Sacramento State, No. 3 Regis College of Colorado, No. 8 UC Riverside, No. 11 Cal Poly Pomona and No. 14 Chapman College.

In the three-pool format, each team will play twice today and then shift into winners’ and losers’ brackets Saturday, with the six best teams forming one round robin and the bottom three another. The championship game is scheduled for 7:30 Saturday night.

The three opening-round pools will consist of Riverside, Cal State Los Angeles and Alaska-Anchorage; Sacramento, Pomona and Dominguez Hills; and Regis, Sonoma and Chapman. Play begins at 2 p.m. today and 10 a.m. Saturday.

The 3-7 Lady Toros picked up all three of their victories last week at the La Verne Tournament. Their improvement coincided with the emergence of freshman setter Jeanna Price. The newcomer from Lake Elsinore set a school record with 50 assists against Elizabethtown, needing only four games to reach that total. The old school mark of 43 assists had been set in a five-game match.

“She’ll probably break that record soon, too,” said Coach Nancy Fortner. “We’re a better team (than previously), so we have longer rallies, and she just goes after more balls.”

Also on the rise for the young Lady Toros is sophomore hitter Lourdes Estrada, who tops the team in kill percentage and has 10 service aces, and freshman hitter Gale Derricott, who is first in kills (33) and digs (28). Sophomore Angie Hamer has 27 kills and 23 digs.

Fortner starts only one senior, Julie Berthiaume. “This (tournament) is tough competition,” the coach said. “Realistically, we’re going to have to work real hard to advance in our pool. I’m hoping to give some of these teams some trouble.”

The Loyola Marymount women’s volleyball team, which started 0-8 last year, is off to a 4-6 start this year despite a tough early schedule.

It doesn’t get any easier for new Coach Steve Stratos’ improving team as the Lions travel to Boulder, Colo., for the start of the Coors Light Invitational.

In round-robin play, the Lions open against host Colorado (3-6) today. On Saturday, they face Florida State (7-2) and 20th-ranked Wyoming (6-2).

On the horizon, the Lions return to Gersten Pavilion to play second-ranked UCLA on Wednesday.

Loyola was buoyed last week by the return to form of all-conference hitter Kerry House and the return to the lineup of Dana Bragado.

House, on the mend from an injury, had 31 kills and 16 digs in a five-game victory over UC Irvine and 17 kills and 14 digs in a four-game loss to Long Beach State, the nation’s ninth-rated team.

House’s performance boosted her into the West Coast Conference lead in digs average at 3.97. She also improved to fourth in kill average at 4.16.

In third place, just ahead of House in kills, is Loyola freshman Deanna Doolittle at 4.25. She leads the Lions with 12 service aces and is second in digs. Setter Anita Irwin leads the Lions with an assist average of 10.3, good for third in the WCC.

Loyola’s improved volleyball play is indicative of an upward trend in the West Coast Conference.

The WCC, which began conference play five years ago, is off to its best start with a composite record of 46-32 through last weekend, despite playing a tougher schedule. Pepperdine has broken into the national Top 20 at No. 14, and all eight conference teams have at least four victories.

Last year, WCC schools won only one-third of their first 61 matches. The year before, the WCC got off to a 13-35 start--a 27% winning percentage.

The road wasn’t kind last week to the Dominguez Hills women’s soccer team, which went 1-3 against several tough opponents away from home.

The Lady Toros’ No. 2 preseason ranking was probably based more on reputation than performance. They played competitively despite their record last week, but losses to two Division II opponents may have dealt an early blow to their chances to return to postseason play.

The Lady Toros, who take a 3-3 record into Saturday’s 2 p.m. home game against U.S. International University, suffered a 3-1 loss at traditional Northern California power Sonoma State, then were upset, 1-0, the following day at UC Davis.

They returned to Southern California to play two Division I opponents, recording a 1-0 victory over UC Irvine, then losing, 2-0, at UC Santa Barbara.

College Notes

The Cal State Dominguez Hills men’s soccer team (2-3) plays host to Grand Canyon College at 3:30 today, then travels to Cal State Northridge for a 6 p.m. game Sunday. Northridge, a traditional foe, upgraded to Division I this season and is no longer in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. . . . Dominguez Hills forward Martin Mira earned his 14th assist last week to tie the school career record. . . . The Loyola Marymount soccer team plays host to powerful University of San Francisco at 3 p.m. Monday.