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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Cougars Aren’t Frightened By Maples But That’s Because They Face Lmu, Not Stanford

Long before Pac-10 player of the year Sarah Silvernail dressed in crimson and gray, light years before West Coast Conference player of the year Kim Blankenship suited up for Loyola Marymount, the Cougars and the Lions tangled in a jungle called Bohler Gym.

That was 1991, at the annual Cougar Classic, and the host team won in three games in the schools’ only meeting.

This is 1996, where ninth-ranked Washington State (26-5) will meet sixth-ranked LMU (26-2) tonight at 6 in the NCAA Volleyball Tournament Pacific Regional semifinals at Maples Pavilion. The winner will face No. 2 Stanford (27-2) or No. 13 Southern California (21-8) Saturday at 7 p.m. in the regional finals. That winner will earn a berth into the Four Four, scheduled to begin Thursday in Cleveland.

The stakes have indeed been upgraded from sloppy joes to filet mignon. But the Cougars need to beef up their results on Stanford’s home court, where the outcomes have been: Gymnasium 11, Washington State zip.

Those matches were played against perennial power Stanford, which won all but one of those home matches against WSU by the score of 3-0.

“Oh, I don’t care,” snapped Washington State coach Cindy Fredrick after Thursday night’s light practice at Maples Pavilion. “It’s a new scenario, new season, new everything. We’re not even playing Stanford.”

Tonight, the Cougs go up against the crimson and blue of LMU (26-2), a team that whipped through its WCC schedule undefeated for its third straight title and carries a 16-match winning streak and a second-round victory over UC Santa Barbara. The Lions were 3-0 winners in 8 of 14 WCC matches this year but are seeded third in the region to WSU’s second seed.

“It’s the best thing that can happen to us to play Loyola Marymount at Stanford. We’re playing somebody at Stanford besides Stanford and that’s good,” Fredrick said.

LMU’s two big guns are 5-foot-8 outside hitter Blankenship, a senior from Torrance, Calif., and 6-2 right-side hitter Sarah Noriega, a sophomore from Ulysses, Kan.

Blankenship has already accounted for a teamhigh 424 kills (.246 hitting percentage) for 4.25 kills per game. She also chipped in with 301 digs and 43 service aces.

“I hear she’s a very, very good player. I want to see her play,” Fredrick said of Blankenship. “If she’s the WCC player of the year, she’s a very good player, no doubt about it.”

Noriega, who was a teammate of Silvernail’s on the 1995 Olympic Festival team, leads the Lions in kills with 466 (.332 hitting) for 4.7 per game. She, Noriega, 6-2 senior middle blockers Karissa Meith and Tate Medley are the Lions’ big blockers.

Silvernail leads the Cougars in kills with 594 (.406 hitting), averaging six per game. Silvernail, who is closing out her career as a Cougar, also leads in digs (262) and blocks (1.5 per game).

“You attempt to do the best you can on Sarah Silvernail,” LMU’s seventh-year coach Steve Stratos said. “But one person does not win or lose a match.”

And WSU has proved that all season with its excellent cast of regulars that includes juniors Stephanie Papke, Keren Oigman, Elis Arias and Shannon Wyckoff and sophomores Jennifer Stinson and Jennifer Canevari.

Fredrick said Wyckoff will start in place of Canevari tonight because “She’s playing well and ready to go.” Wyckoff replaced Canevari in the second game against NCAA Tournament second-round opponent Kansas State and remained in the match.

“Every team is tough from here on out. There’s only 16 teams left in the whole country,” said Stinson, second on the team with 241 kills (.263 hitting percentage). “We’re excited that we’re finally here and ready to play.”

Notes

Saturday’s regional final match will be televised on tape delay on Fox Northwest at 6 p.m. on Wednesday. Tonight’s game will not be televised. The Final Four title game will be shown live on ESPN2 on Dec. 21… . WSU and LMU were both eliminated by Oral Roberts in last year’s NCAAs… . No. 1 Stanford has eliminated No. 4 seed Southern Cal in the national tournament each of the last three seasons and eight of the last 12… . Stanford, Penn State, Pacific and UCSB are the only schools that have participated in the national tournament all 16 times. UCLA did not make the field this year for the first time.

, DataTimes