SPORTSCOPE / IRENE GARCIA : Loyola’s Wrensch Earns Tourney MVP Award

The Loyola Marymount women’s volleyball team will play at Cal State Northridge tonightat 7. The Lions, who lost to Northridge (5-7) at home on Sept. 7, improved to 9-3 with Tuesday’s victory over San Diego State at Gersten Pavilion.

Loyola also won the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo tournament last weekend and middle blocker Mardell Wrensch was named tournament most valuable player and West Coast Conference player of the week.

Wrensch, a 6-foot-1 sophomore from Monte Vista High in Cupertino, leads the team with a .416 attack percentage and 13 solo blocks. She ranks second to freshman outside hitter Suzanne Radcliffe (127) with 106 kills.

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Cal State Dominguez Hills named Sam Lagana assistant athletic director earlier this week. Lagana comes from Cal State Northridge, where he was the assistant athletic director for marketing. The 31-year-old Lagana also has served as director of public relations for the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals. He is a graduate of Loyola Marymount University.

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Coming off two wins at home last week, the Cal State Dominguez Hills women’s soccer team (5-2) will play a pair of matches on the road this weekend. The Toros, ranked ninth in NCAA Division II, will play at the University of Northern Colorado today at 2:30 p.m. and at Regis University in Denver on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. Senior forward Teresa Bateman, a graduate of Torrance High and El Camino College, leads Dominguez Hills with six goals and 14 points. Sophomore forward Gwen Nakashima (Torrance High) has four goals and 14 points.

The unranked men’s team will play at UCLA on Sunday at 2 p.m. The Bruins are ranked fifth nationally in Division I. The Toros (4-1) are led by forward Masahiro Fujiki with five goals and 10 points. Forward Ken Hodge has two goals and seven points.

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The Loyola women’s soccer team will host Pepperdine University on Saturday at 1 p.m. Both teams are 2-3 and in their first season in NCAA Division I after playing at the club level for several years. The Lions are led by freshman Cindy Carullo’s nine points and four goals.

The Loyola men’s team will take its biggest trip in the program’s history when it travels to the Cleveland Classic in Ohio. The Lions (1-5) will meet Western Kentucky today at 5 p.m. and Central Michigan on Saturday.

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The Dominguez Hills women’s volleyball team (5-10) will play at Biola University on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. The Toros placed fifth at their invitational tournament last weekend and Biola finished fourth. Senior middle blocker Evonne Caouette leads Dominguez Hills in seven categories, including kills (118), aces (26) and total blocks (27).

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The third International Naginata Federation Goodwill Tournament will be held at Cal State Dominguez Hills on Saturday. Competitors from eight countries will participate in the event, which begins at 10 a.m. in the Toro gym. Naginata is a Japanese martial art that employs the use of a pole arm with a single curved blade on one end. Admission is free.

Information: (310) 530-6288.

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The Yonex U.S. Open Championship Badminton Tournament will be held through Sunday at Loyola Marymount University. More than 140 players representing 15 countries will compete in the event, which is sanctioned by the International Badminton Federation and the U.S. Badminton Assn. There will be five categories, including men’s and women’s singles and doubles and mixed doubles. Tickets range from $10 to $25 and are available at Ticketmaster outlets.

Information: (213) 896-0288.

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The Hawthorne Parks and Recreation Department will sponsor a 5-K and 3-K Community Partnership Youth Run on Oct. 3 at 8 a.m. There is no entry fee for the race, which starts at the new Century Freeway. Medals will be awarded through third place in all categories and T-shirts will go to the first 400 people to register.

Information: (310) 970-7230.

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The Amateur Athletic Foundation and the California Interscholastic Federation will offer a free soccer coaching clinic at South Torrance High on Oct. 30-31 and Nov. 6-7. The 30-hour, four-day training program meets the U.S. Soccer Federation requirements for a D coaching license.

Information: (213) 730-9618.

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The Southern California Slo-Two-Pitch Softball Assn. is accepting teams through Oct. 16 for tournaments during its fall season at Wilson Park in Torrance. Team entry fee is $190 and all teams are guaranteed to play at least three games in each tournament.

Information: (310) 866-8685.

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The Inglewood Recreation and Community Services Department is sponsoring youth soccer for boys and girls 6 to 13 and flag football for boys and girls 6 to 11. Registration will be held through Oct. 2 at Centinela, Dary and Rogers parks. Registration fee is $20 for residents and $24 for non-residents. Games will be played at Centinela Park.

Information: (310) 412-5370.

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The Torrance Parks and Recreation Department will offer flag football for boys in kindergarten through eighth grade from Oct. 16 to Dec. 16. The league is open to boys who live in Torrance or attend a Torrance school. Registration will be held at the Torrance Parks and Recreation office, 3031 Torrance Blvd. The fee is $35.

Information: (310) 618-2930.