SPORTSCOPE : Lions, Waves Battle for WCC Volleyball Lead

The top two West Coast Conference women’s volleyball teams meet Saturday in Malibu when Loyola Marymount battles Pepperdine at 7 p.m.

Pepperdine, ranked 17th, is 15-4 and 7-0 in league play and Loyola is 13-8 and 5-2.

Coach Steve Stratos said the Lions’ hopes of receiving an NCAA playoff bid will probably depend on their success in matches against the Waves on Saturday and Oct. 26 at Loyola.

“I don’t believe the second-place team is going to get a (playoff) bid from our conference even though Gonzaga did last year,” Stratos said. “We will have to beat them once and that will be very difficult to do.”

Loyola has been led by freshman setter Robin Ortgiesen and outside hitters Joli Eberhart, a junior, and Deanna Doolittle, a senior.

Ortgiesen leads the WCC in assists and is ranked fifth nationally with an average of 12.6 a game. Eberhart and Doolittle are leading the Lions in kills and digs and senior middle blocker Stacy Trapp is the leader in blocks.

The Lions played well in three conference matches in Northern California last week, losing to St. Mary’s but defeating San Francisco and Santa Clara.

The Cal State Dominguez Hills women’s soccer team will try to clinch at least a share of the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. title when it plays host to Cal Poly Pomona at 11 a.m. Saturday.

Dominguez Hills (10-2-1 overall, 3-0 in the CCAA) is ranked No. 5 in the NCAA Division II and could climb even higher after upsetting UC Santa Barbara, 1-0, in a nonconference game last week. The Gauchos were ranked 18th in Division I.

“This (was) the biggest victory in the history of women’s soccer at Dominguez Hills,” he said. “It took eight years for that victory to come around. That was the best I could ask a team of mine to play.”

“The important thing is that we don’t let down now. We still have to play harder than we ever have before to get through the rest of the season and reach our goal of returning to the final four.”

Pomona is the closest pursuer of Dominguez Hills in conference play. The Broncos (8-4-1, 2-1) lost earlier to Dominguez Hills, 2-0.

Pomona scoring leaders are Allison Thompson with 19 points and Kristin Harkins with 14.

Dominguez Hills forward Amy Rubin is the CCAA scoring leader with 13 goals and 30 points. Freshman forward Staci Blough has 18 points.

North American Boxing Federation flyweight champion Ysaias Zamudio and International Boxing Council Continental junior featherweight champion Rudy (The Beauty) Zavala will headline a boxing card at the Forum on Monday night.

Zamudio (25-3-1, eight knockouts) will fight Edward Decena (20-7-3, seven KOs) in a non-title bout. Zavala (12-0, 10 KOs) will battle Mark Brooks (20-4, 14 KOs).

The card starts at 7 p.m.

The Cal State Dominguez Hills women’s volleyball team will bid for its first conference win when it plays host to Cal State Los Angeles in a California Collegiate Athletic Assn. match at 7:30 tonight.

Dominguez Hills is 12-15 overall and 0-4 in the conference. Cal State L.A. is 8-11 and 1-3.

The Toros have been slowed because of injuries and illnesses. In a four-game loss to UC Riverside last week, Dominguez Hills suited up only seven healthy players.

Toro sophomore outside hitter Gale Derricott is having an outstanding season. With 36 kills in two games last week, Derricott became the first Toro to surpass the 300-kill plateau for a season with 314.

The Loyola Marymount men’s soccer team will visit the University of San Diego at 7:30 tonight.

Loyola (2-10-1, 0-4) has lost eight consecutive games. San Diego is 4-7 and 0-2.

On Sunday, Loyola lost a nonconference game to UC Irvine, 3-1, but ended a scoreless streak that had reached four games.

Loyola will return home to play Cal State Northridge in a nonconference game at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Registration is under way for an adult golf class that will run from 7 to 8 p.m. Tuesdays starting Oct. 29 at Alondra Park Golf Course, 16400 S. Prairie Ave.

The cost is $58 and there is an additional fee for range balls.

Registration is at the Hawthorne Parks and Recreation Department office in Hawthorne Memorial Center, 3901 El Segundo Blvd.

Information: Robert Klein at (213) 970-7230.

Youths age 8 and older may participate in an ongoing Kempo karate program that is sponsored by the Inglewood YMCA.

Registration is at the Y, 319 E. Kelso St., Inglewood.

Information: Michael Solomon at (213) 671-7615.