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QUICK HITS
◊ LMU enters the week ranked #20 in the AVCA Preseason Poll, up one spot from last week … is picked to finish fourth according to the annual preseason coaches poll … made its 13th appearance in the NCAA Tournament last year, including its third in the last four years (2012, 2014, 2015) ... went 24-9 overall last year, including 13-5 in the WCC to claim a share of third place in the conference standings … reached the Sweet 16 for just the second time in program history (1996) ... dropped the Sweet 16 match to Kansas (3-1) … swept #6 Stanford to advance to the Sweet 16 - the highest-ranked opponent to ever fall to the Lions (previous: 3-2 at #9 Hawaii on 9/23/05) ... including last year, each of LMU's last three tournament runs started at Stanford ... was one of four WCC teams in the NCAA Tournament (LMU, BYU, USD, SCU), with BYU also reaching the Sweet 16 ... has recorded back-to-back 20+ win seasons for the first time since 1999-00 ... posted 10+ WCC wins in consecutive years for the first time since 1996-97 … 24 victories were the most since recording 26 in 2003 ... third-place finish was the best for the Lions since finishing third in 2003 ... 13 WCC wins were the most since 1996 (14-0) ... is 297-155 (.657) at home since 1982.
◊ Tom Black served as an Assistant Coach with Team USA, helping the US to a bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics … worked directly with the setters with Team USA.
◊ Jamie Lea was named preseason All-WCC.
◊ Tess Reid has posted a double-double in each of her first three collegiate matches.
◊ Sarah Sponcil garnered AVCA All-Region and honorable mention All-America honors last year … listed on ESPNW's 2016 Top-12 Players to Watch list … is a preseason All-WCC selection.
◊ Joe Trinsey served as an Assistant Coach with Team USA, helping the US to a bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

THIS WEEK
LMU volleyball, ranked 20th headed into this week, will hit the road for the first time this year, traveling to Denver, Colo. for the Pioneer Classic … the Lions will open tournament play on Friday at 5 p.m. against the host squad before meeting Utah State and Montana State on Saturday.

LION TRACKS
LMU got off to a good start last week, going 2-1 while hosting the LMU Invitational … the Lions defeated Illinios State and Niagara before dropping a four-set match to #12 UCLA in the Tournament Championship … Sarah Sponcil led the way on the attack, registering 41 kills (3.42 per set), while Tess Reid posted a double-double in each of her first three collegiate matches at the setter position … Nicky Kevorken posted 12 blocks in as many sets to guide the squad at the net … always a strong serving team, LMU served up 17 aces (1.42 per set), led by Kristen Castellanos with seven aces.

ABOUT DENVER
Denver enters the weekend sporting a 2-1 record after winning a pair of matches and finishing second at the 2016 Aztec Invitational hosted by San Diego State … the Pioneers lost to Michigan State in three sets, defeated Marist in three sets, and defeated host San Diego State in five sets … Nola Basey and Ruth Okoye both made the All-Tournament team, with Basey finishing with 21 kills, 23 digs and five aces … Okoye led the attack with a blistering .417 hitting percentage on 18 kills and led the team with 13 total blocks … Becca Latham and Kayla Principato each own 25 kills to lead the way … Denver served up 22 aces (2.00 per set) in going 2-1 last week … the Pioneers are led by first-year head coach Tom Hogan.

ABOUT UTAH STATE
Utah State enters the weekend with a 0-3 record, after falling in each of its matches at the Oregon State-hosted Ultra Ankle Challenge last week … the Aggies lost 3-2 to Oregon State, and 3-0 to both Seattle and Portland … Kaylie Kamalu-Smith collected 37 kills last week, averaging 3.70 kills per set … Kayla DeCoursey hit .455 with 33 kills (3.00 per set) while also managing five blocks … Carly Lenzen is the team's leading server, notching four aces, while Hannah Gleason has posted 53 digs (4.82 per set) … the Aggies are led by 10th-year head coach Grayson DuBose.

ABOUT MONTANA STATE
Montana State enters the weekend with an overall mark of 2-1, after picking up victories over Grand Canyon (3-2) and Jacksonville State (3-1) at the Air Force-Army Svoboda Memorial Classic last weekend … Natalie Passeck leads the way offensively with 47 kills (3.36 per set) while hitting .283 … the Bobcats are hitting .166 as a team receiving sets from Katie Rutecki (75 assists) and Sydney Mathison (62 assists) … Montana State has proven to be a good serving team, serving up 26 aces, led by seven from Caitlin Lonergan … Kiana Black and Eli Svisco guide the way on the block, registering 13 and 11 blocks, respectively … Alyssa Rizzo has been impressive in terms of the digs numbers, notching 77 (5.50 per set) … the Bobcats are led by second-year head coach JJ Riley.

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 U.S. Women's National Volleyball Team ... Black, who has continued in his head coaching duties at LMU while serving on the Team USA staff, helped guide the United States to a bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics by way of a victory over Netherlands ... under his title with the National Team, Black's primary responsibility was working with the setters and the team offense.

LET'S SETTLE THIS ON NEUTRAL GROUND
LMU has historically been extremely impressive in matches played at neutral sites, in which neither team is playing on their home court ... the Lions went 4-1 in neutral matches last year after finishing 2014 with the same 4-1 record ... 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 122-59 (.674) 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.

GET OFF ON THE RIGHT PAW
The Lions have had a knack for coming out of the gates strong in recent memory, having won 17 of their last 20 season-openers, including a four-set win over Illinois State this year … LMU did drop 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 six occasions.

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME
One of Southern California's premier athletic facilities, Albert Gersten Pavilion is in its 35th year as home of the Loyola Marymount volleyball in 2016 ... 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 ... since 1982, the Lions have posted an overall record of 297-155 (.657) in the friendly confines of the Pavilion, including going 10-4 at home in 2015 ... in conference play, the record is even more impressive with a 151-71 (.680) home record in WCC action ... in 34 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.

SURVEY SAYS
In a preseason poll of the Conference's 10 head coaches, LMU was selected to finish fourth in the West Coast Conference in 2016 ... after making its sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament and 19th overall, San Diego was picked as the favorite to win the Championship … the top three teams were separated by 11 votes, with 10 points separating the Toreros from the three-time defending WCC champion and 2015 NCAA Sweet-16 participant BYU … Santa Clara, LMU, Pepperdine, Pacific, Portland, Saint Mary's, Gonzaga and San Francisco followed.

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

READY FOR THE BRIGHT LIGHTS
The West Coast Conference unveiled its 2016 broadcast schedule for volleyball, and the Lions are scheduled to host a pair of ESPN televised matches … LMU will welcome perennial power San Diego Tuesday, September 27 at 7:00 p.m., while defending WCC Champion and NCAA Sweet-16 participant BYU plays at LMU Tuesday, November 22 at 8:00 p.m.

PICKED BEFORE THE SERVE
The West Coast Conference released its preseason All-WCC selections, and LMU's Sarah Sponcil and Jamie Lea were honored ... Six programs placed at least one student-athlete on the preseason squad, with Santa Clara leading the way with three selections … Sponcil was named a 2015 AVCA All-Region and honorable mention All-American after taking home first team All-WCC honors … she led the Lions in kills with 447 at a rate of 3.58 per set while notching a team-best 36 aces (0.29 per set) and 363 digs (2.90 per set) … Lea, who managed double-digit kills in all but seven matches, appeared in 32 of LMU's 33 matches and collected 425 kills to finish second on the team in her first season as a Lion .. the native of Efland, N.C. averaged 3.57 kills per set while taking 1,113 swings and amassing eight block solos and 45 block assists to average 0.45 blocks per set.

WINS FOR THE AGES
LMU has managed a few streak-stopping victories over the last two-plus years, most notably defeating Stanford, BYU, UCLA, San Diego and Long Beach State ... the Lions' latest accomplishment was a road sweep at then-#6 Stanford on 12/4/15 to advance to the 2015 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 ... the victory over the Cardinal was the first in program history, as the Lions had previously gone 0-3 and never won a set ... Stanford was also the highest-ranked opponent to be fall to the Lions (previous: 3-2 at #9 Hawaii on 9/23/05) ... LMU posted a five-set victory over then-No. 12 BYU on 10/24/15, 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 11-3 in favor of UCLA, as the Lions swept the Bruins for the second straight year on 8/30/15, but dropped a match to UCLA on 8/27 this year ... 2015's victory over UCLA 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 11 UCLA victories in the series have been sweeps ... the Lions also 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 ... 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.

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 (previous 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 ... last year, LMU was 4-2 against ranked opponents after beating #20 UCLA (8/30), #12 BYU (10/24), #13 Colorado State (12/3) and #6 Stanford (12/4) … so far this year, the Lions are 0-1, dropping a four-setter to #12 UCLA on 8/27.

WCC WELL-REPRESENTED
For the second straight year, four West Coast Conference volleyball programs advanced to the 2015 NCAA Tournament ... No. 11 BYU, the 2015 WCC Regular-Season Champions, joined LMU, San Diego and Santa Clara for the second straight season as qualifiers ... BYU, which like the Lions reached the Sweet 16 in 2015, played for the National Championship in 2014 ... the four teams selected is the largest contingent of WCC programs to advance to the NCAA Tournament since 2012 when BYU, LMU, Pepperdine, Saint Mary's, San Diego and Santa Clara all qualified.

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.

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