Nov. 4, 2015 LMU Volleyball on Facebook | | LMU Volleyball on Instagram
FOLLOW THE LIONS
LMU vs. Portland â€" Thursday, November 5 | 7 PM | Gersten Pavilion | Watch on theW.tv | Live Stats |
LMU vs. Gonzaga â€" Saturday, November 7 | 12 PM | Gersten Pavilion | Watch on theW.tv | Live Stats |
QUICK HITS
◊ LMU snapped a three-match losing streak with a victory over Saint Mary's on 10/3 ... has now won eight of its last nine matches ... owns an RPI of 27 entering this week ... is ranked 25th in the nation (2nd in WCC) in assists/per set (13.19) and 32nd in the nation (1st in WCC) in kills (1,316) ... has played 9 five-set matches this year (6-3 record) after playing 6 such matches last season ... has been swept just once this year (10/22 vs. USD) ... has won 18 of 24 first sets this year (12-6 in those matches), but is 5-1 when the opponent wins the first set ... made its 12th appearance in the NCAA Tournament last year, and its second trip in the last three years (dropped the First Round match to Michigan State) ... finished 5th in the WCC (23-8 overall | 11-7 WCC) and was one of four WCC teams in the NCAA Tournament (LMU, BYU, USD, SCU) ... had five players awarded with All-Conference honors last year, including three first-team selections (DeWitt, Keil, Tedrow) and two All-Freshman selections (Sponcil, Castellanos) ... the three first-team selections were the most since LMU earned three in 1996 ... earned a National Ranking last year for the first time since 2004 ... reached 20 wins for the first time since 2003 (26-7) ... is 292-154 (.655) at home since 1982. ◊ Tom Black collected win #100 as head coach at LMU with a five-set victory over Saint Mary's on 10/29 ... now owns 101. ◊ Jamie Lea has managed double-digit kills in all but four matches this year ... collected 25 kills against Santa Clara on 10/17 - the most for a Lion since 2012 (Kat Luft) ... is averaging a team-best 3.74 kills per set (7th in WCC). ◊ Sarah Sponcil claimed WCC Player of the Week on 11/2 (guided LMU to a 2-0 week | averaged 4.25 kills per set (34 total) while hitting .400 over two matches) ... was named Lumberjack Classic All-Tournament ... recorded a triple-double vs. Virginia on 8/28 (13 K | 28 A | 17 D) - the first for LMU since Heather Hughes had 19 K, 11 A, 11 D vs. Gonzaga on 11/1/07 ... has managed at least a double-double in all but 10 matches this year ... was named a preseason All-WCC selection. ◊ Rachelle Suaava was named Lumberjack Classic All-Tournament ... is hitting .272 (260-106/566) with a team-best 98 block assists and 7 block solos (1.12 per set) ... ranks 2nd in WCC in total blocks (105) and 6th in blocks per set. ◊ Hannah Tedrow took home WCC Player of the Week on 10/19 (guided LMU to a 2-0 week | averaged 14.62 assists per set) ... posted 77 assists against Santa Clara on 10/17 - tied for sixth-most in LMU history for a single match, and the most since 2005 ... is averaging 11.54 assists per set (1st in WCC | 10th in nation) ... was named a preseason All-WCC selection. ◊ Kekai Whitford was named Lumberjack Classic All-Tournament.
THIS WEEK
Having won eight of its last nine matches overall, including three straight, LMU will continue West Coast Conference play at home this week, welcoming Portland and Gonzaga to Gersten Pavilion ... Thursday's match against the Pilots is scheduled for 7 pm, while Saturday's clash against the Bulldogs will begin at Noon ... live stats and video links for both matches can be found at LMULions.com.
LION TRACKS
LMU won a pair of West Coast Conference road matches last week, defeating Saint Mary's in five sets before sweeping past Pacific ... Sarah Sponcil was named WCC Player of the Week for her efforts over the two matches ... Sponcil collected 34 kills (4.25 per set) while hitting .400 on 70 attacks with just six errors ... in addition to the attacking numbers, Sponcil managed an ace in both matches, and finished the week with four total blocks, including a solo and two block assists against the Tigers.
THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME
One of Southern California's premier athletic facilities, Albert Gersten Pavilion is in its 34th year as home of the Loyola Marymount volleyball in 2015 ... since opening night, the Pavilion has become one of toughest places to play in the West Coast Conference ... the volleyball Lions first moved into the facility in 1982, and recorded 14 wins in Gersten's inaugural season ... LMU went 11-3 at home last year, the best home mark since starting 11-3 in 2004 ... since 1982, the Lions have posted an overall record of 292-154 (.655) in the friendly confines of the Pavilion ... in conference play, the record is even more impressive with a 148-71 (.676) home record in WCC action ... in 32 years, the 1996 (WCC volleyball championship team and Sweet Sixteen participant) and 2003 (NCAA second round appearance) squads have been the most successful with 14-1 marks, for .933 winning percentages.
LIONS TAKE HOME WEEKLY HONORS
With seemingly everything beginning to click for LMU, the Lions have been rewarded with two of the last three WCC Player of the Week selections ... senior Hannah Tedrow earned the first honor on 10/19 after guiding LMU to a 2-0 week and averaging 14.62 assists per set ... Tedrow registered 40 assists in a win against USF before posting 77 in a victory over Santa Clara ... the 77 assists are tied for sixth-most in LMU history for a single match ... in addition to setting the attack, the native of Foothill Ranch, Calif. also managed six block assists, including four in the win over Santa Clara ... sophomore Sarah Sponcil most recently earned the honor on 11/2, nabbing a selection after helping LMU to victories over Saint Mary's and Pacific ... Sponcil collected 34 kills (4.25 per set) while hitting .400 on 70 attacks with just six errors over the two matches ... the native of Phoenix, Ariz. teamed 21 kills and 13 digs while hitting .415 for a double-double against the Gaels before turning in another strong outing on Pacific, posting 13 kills and hitting .379 over 29 swings with just two errors ... in addition to the attacking numbers, Sponcil managed an ace in both matches, and finished the week with four total blocks, including a solo and two block assists against the Tigers.
ABOUT PORTLAND
Portland enters the match with LMU sporting a 13-10 overall record (3-8 WCC) having won back-to-back matches ... the Pilots most recently posted five-set victories over San Francisco and Santa Clara last week ... Portland had lost eight straight prior to those victories ... Emily Liger leads the team on the attack, posting 312 kills at a rate of 3.71 per set ... Liger has also served up 22 aces to guide Portland to 107 as a squad ... the Pilots are hitting .216 as a team while receiving sets from Djurdjina Milovic (873 assists | 10.39 per set) ... Brittney Markwith provides a solid block, posting 87 blocks, including three solos and 84 block assists ... Hannah Troutman has managed 10 block solos and 37 block assists, as the Pilots are averaging 2.35 blocks per set ... Portland is led by second-year head coach Brent Crouch.
ABOUT GONZAGA
Gonzaga enters the week sporting a 14-10 overall record (5-6 WCC) having won two of its last three matches ... the Bulldogs fell in four against Santa Clara before sweeping San Francisco last week ... Savannah Blinn leads the attack, registering 349 kills at a rate of 4.06 per set ... Gonzaga is hitting .251 as a team receiving sets from Faith Smith (509 assists | 5.92 per set) and Lauren Joseph (304 assists | 4.68 per set) ... Emmy Allen leads the team in aces with 20, helping Gonzaga to 76 as a squad ... the Bulldogs feature a strong block which averages 2.54 blocks per set, led by 84 blocks from Kaylie Loewen (9 block solos and 75 block assists) ... Blinn has also contributed 64 blocks ... Gonzaga is led by seventh-year head coach Dave Gantt.
WATCH IT LIVE ONLINE
LMU Athletics will video stream all home volleyball matches this year through the LMU Sports Network and theW.tv ... the video stream is free of charge, and will be accompanied by an audio play-by-play broadcast ... to watch any and all home matches this year, please visit: lmulions.com/multimedia/LMUSportsNetwork-WVB.html
IT'S JUST A NUMBER
With a victory over No. 24 Pepperdine on November 8, 2012, LMU snapped a streak of 36 straight losses to ranked opponents (last victory: 10/5/06 at #12 Santa Clara) ... LMU finished that year 1-5 against ranked foes before going 0-4 in such matches in 2013 ... the 2014 season went much better when the Lions were pit against Top-25 squads, as LMU went 2-2 on the year ... so far this season, LMU is 2-1 after sweeping then-No. 20 UCLA on the road on 8/30, falling in four to then-No. 15 BYU on 9/29, and defeating then-No. 12 BYU in five sets on 10/24.
WINS FOR THE AGES
LMU has managed a few streak-stopping victories over the last two years, most notably defeating BYU, UCLA, San Diego and Long Beach State ... the Lions' latest accomplishment was a five-set victory over then-No. 12 BYU on 10/24 this year, marking the first win over the Cougars in program history (1-11) ... prior to LMU's sweep of UCLA on 8/30/14, the Bruins had won seven straight matches over the Lions ... the all-time series now stands at 10-3 in favor of UCLA, as the Lions swept the Bruins for the second straight year on 8/30 in match two of the season ... this year's victory came on the road, and was the first on the road for LMU at UCLA since December 4, 1986 (3-2) while playing in the NCAA Tournament ... eight of the 10 UCLA victories in the series have been sweeps ... the Lions then recorded a victory over Long Beach State on 9/11/14, snapping a seven-match skid for the Lions against the 49ers ... the last Lion victory over LBSU came on 9/10/94 ... the road victory for LMU was also the first over Long Beach State since 11/17/87 ... perhaps the biggest win of last year, LMU swept then-No. 23 San Diego on 9/30/14 ... that victory snapped a 16-match losing streak to the Toreros (last victory: 10/28/05) ... LMU was just 6-26 over the previous 32 matches against USD ... the sweep of USD was also the first for the Lions since 11/18/95.
U-S-A, U-S-A, U-S-A!
After completing his third year serving as LMU head volleyball coach in 2012, Tom Black accepted an assistant coach position under head coach Karch Kiraly with the top-ranked U.S. Women's National Volleyball Team ... Black will continue in his head coaching duties at LMU this year while serving on the Team USA staff ... Black, who recently completed a stint coaching the team to a third-place finish at the FIVB World Cup in Japan, helped guide the Americans past five nations, all ranked in the top seven in the world, in five days, securing the sixth Grand Prix crown for the United States ... Russia took the silver and Brazil earned the bronze medal ... under his title with the National Team, Black's primary responsibility is working with the setters and the team offense ... working directly under his instruction, Molly Kreklow was named "Best Setter" of Grand Prix ... to follow Tom and Team USA, please visit teamusa.org/USA-Volleyball.
WELLS FARGO PCH CUP
Separated by 19.1 miles of scenic coastline, longtime cross-town adversaries Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine came together in an effort to boost their decades-long rivalry with the creation of the Wells Fargo Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) Cup ... the series, which is in its seventh year, serves as an annual scorecard for the NCAA-sponsored athletic contests between the Lions and Waves, and challenges each institution to rise above the other within the West Coast Conference ... any head-to-head competition, including matches in the post-season and tournaments throughout the year, will be counted toward the scoring and added to the scorecard as they occur ... for the sports in which the two teams do not meet head-to-head, the teams will battle for points that will be awarded on the basis of overall finish at their respective post-season championships ... Pepperdine currently leads the 2015-16 standings, 2.5-0 ... LMU won the challenge for the first time last year ... to learn more about the PCH Cup and view the current scorecard, please visit: http://tinyurl.com/6n4l82s
LET'S SETTLE THIS ON NEUTRAL GROUND
With Inauguration Day for new LMU President Timothy Law Snyder scheduled for October 6, LMU had to play its 10/3 match against Saint Mary's at Pepperdine ... LMU has historically been extremely impressive in matches played at neutral sites, in which neither team is playing on their home court ... with the victory over the Gaels, the Lions are currently 3-0 in neutral matches this year after finishing last year 4-1 in neutral matches ... LMU was 1-1 in neutral contests in 2013 after finishing 2-3 in 2012 ... 2011 saw the Lions go 4-2 in neutral matches, while they were 6-2 in 2010 ... overall, LMU is 121-58 (.676) in neutral contests since the 1983 season, including having posted perfect neutral records in eight of those 33 seasons ... over that span, LMU has had only five seasons with losing records in neutral matches.
ALL-TOURNAMENT PERFORMERS
Senior Rachelle Suaava, sophomore Sarah Sponcil and freshman Kekai Whitford were named Lumberjack Classic All-Tournament selections after turning in solid efforts over the three matches ... Suaava collected 45 total kills on 80 swings with just nine errors (.450) over the course of three matches and 13 sets (3.46 kills per set), reaching double-digit kills in each match ... LMU's leading presence on the block, she managed 14 block assists, including four in each of the first two matches before posting six in the finale against NAU ... Suaava averaged 1.08 blocks per set and 4.15 points per set ... Sponcil registered a double-double in each match, finishing the tournament with 41 kills (3.15 per set), four aces and 42 digs (3.23 per set) ... serving as LMU's libero, Whitford totaled 37 digs (2.85 per set) while serving up an ace.
PICKED BEFORE THE SERVE
The West Coast Conference released its preseason All-WCC selections, and LMU's Hannah Tedrow and Sarah Sponcil were honored ... BYU led the way with three preseason selections, while LMU and Santa Clara each collected a pair ... serving as LMU's setter last year, Tedrow registered 1,304 total assists (11.54/set) en route to being named AVCA Pacific South All-Region and an honorable mention All-American ... LMU's team-leader in double-doubles with eight, Tedrow amassed 22 service aces, 248 digs and 83 total blocks, including six block solos .. the native of Foothill Ranch, Calif. garnered first team All-WCC honors, and posted 30+ assists in all but two matches last season ... Sponcil, who was named AVCA Pacific South Region Freshman of the Year, emerged as a force on the attack in her first season, collecting 344 kills at a rate of 3.04 per set ... the Phoenix, Ariz. native teamed the kills with 14 aces and 272 digs, with the latter placing second on the team ... the WCC All-Freshman team selection finished second on the team in double-doubles with seven.
TOP OF THE CLASS
LMU's newest group of freshmen volleyball players was tabbed Highest Honorable Mention according to PrepVolleyball.com prior to the 2015 season ... the Lions, who garnered Highest Honorable Mention honors in PrepVolleyball's recruiting rankings entering the 2011 and 2012 seasons, had the 24th-best class in 2014 ... in order to determine the top recruiting classes, PrepVolleyball.com petitions a panel of college coaches from across the country to develop the list.
SURVEY SAYS
In a preseason poll of the Conference's 10 head coaches, LMU was selected to finish fifth in the West Coast Conference in 2015 ... after a record-setting march to the 2014 NCAA National Championship match, BYU was picked as the unanimous favorite to win the Championship ... the top three teams were separated by 19 votes, with 10 points separating the two-time defending WCC champion Cougars from Santa Clara.
DiG PiNK
For the ninth consecutive year, LMU volleyball helped raise awareness and funds for the fight against breast cancer through the Side-Out Foundation DiG PiNK campaign ... LMU's DiG PiNK event was played on October 22 versus San Diego ... fans were encouraged to wear pink and could donate at the match ... LMU held a pre-match tailgate and barbeque in addition to a silent auction, with items including an autographed LMU volleyball, LMU volleyball team jersey and the opportunity to sit on the bench at an upcoming home match ... all proceeds from the auction go to the Side-Out Foundation ... there is still time to donate by visiting: http://bit.ly/1GcN1hc
LMU VOLLEYBALL ON TWITTER
For fans, parents and players interested in following LMU volleyball even closer this year, LMU volleyball will be tweeting under the handle @LMU_Volleyball ... to get the inside look at LMU volleyball, make sure to follow @LMU_Volleyball on Twitter.
GET OFF ON THE RIGHT PAW
The Lions have had a knack for coming out of the gates strong in recent memory, having won 16 of their last 19 season-openers, but they dropped a four-set match to Virginia to start the 2015 campaign ... the only other losses over that span came in 2007 to St. John's and then-No. 10 USC in 2010 ... LMU has recorded 10 sweeps and won in four sets on five occasions.
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