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QUICK HITS
◊ LMU dropped the season opener this year (USC) for just the fourth time in the last 21 seasons (17-4)
◊ LMU allowed a .400 hitting percentage in the loss to USC on 8/25 - the first time allowing a .400+ mark since 11/20/10 vs. San Diego (.437)
◊ Savannah Slattery earned a spot on the 2017 Preseason All-WCC team
◊ Megan Rice leads all West Coast Conference players in aces (7)
◊ Kristen Castellanos and Sara Kovac were named to the USC/LMU Invitational All-Tournament team
◊ The Lions are picked to finish eighth in the WCC Volleyball Preseason Poll
◊ LMU made its 13th NCAA Tournament appearance in 2015, and has reached the Tournament in three of the last five years (2012, 2014, 2015)
◊ LMU returns three starters plus the libero from last year, including All-Freshman team member, Savannah Slattery
◊ The Lions went 19-11 overall last year, including 10-8 in the WCC to claim a share of third place in the conference standings
◊ LMU fell a win short of 20 last year, but recorded back-to-back 20+ win seasons the previous two years for the first time since 1999-00
◊ The Lions have posted 10+ WCC wins in three straight years for the first time since 1995-97
◊ LMU won the first set in 24 of 30 matches last year, but went 0-6 in five-set matches
◊ The Lions are 304-162 (.652) at home since 1982

THIS WEEK
LMU will continue the 2017 season this Friday and Saturday, traveling to Eugene, Ore. for the Oregon Classic hosted by the University of Oregon ... the Lions will open play against Northern Illinois on Friday at 11 a.m. before meeting #14 Oregon at 8 p.m. Friday night ... tournament play concludes on Saturday with a 2 p.m. match against UTRGV ... the match against the Ducks on Saturday night will feature a live video stream that can be found at LMULions.com.

FIFTH SET WINS PROVED ELUSIVE
The five-set heartbreaking loss to #10 BYU to finish the 2016 season proved to be a fitting summary of the luck LMU had in five-set contests last season, as the Lions went 0-6 in such contests, including 0-4 at home ... as if the losses weren't enough, LMU won the first two sets in three of those six setbacks (9/27 vs. #6 San Diego; 10/27 vs. Pacific; 11/22 vs. #10 BYU) ... in addition, LMU was up 2-1 in two of the other three losses ... all six of the five-set losses came in WCC play, with two each coming against Pacific and BYU.

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME
One of Southern California's premier athletic facilities, Albert Gersten Pavilion is in its 36th year as home of the Loyola Marymount volleyball in 2017 ... 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 304-162 (.652) in the friendly confines of the Pavilion ... LMU, which went 8-6 last year at home, went 10-4 at home in 2015 ... in conference play, the record is even more impressive with a 155-76 (.671) 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.

WATCH IT LIVE ONLINE
LMU Athletics will video stream all non-televised home volleyball matches this year through the LMU Sports Network and the W.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 or TheW.tv.

READY FOR THE BRIGHT LIGHTS
The West Coast Conference unveiled its 2017 broadcast schedule for volleyball, and the Lions are scheduled to play a trio of nationally-televised matches ... the Lions will visit UCLA on September 13 for a 4:30 p.m. match that will air live on the Pac-12 Network ... LMU will then travel to San Diego for a 6 p.m. match that will air on ESPNU/Watch ESPN on September 26 ... finally, the Lions will host a televised match against Santa Clara on October 12 with first serve set for 8 p.m.

PICKED BEFORE THE SERVE
The West Coast Conference released its preseason All-WCC selections, and LMU's Savannah Slattery was honored ... Slattery finished second on the team in kills as a freshman in 2016, totaling 330 to average 3.27 per set ... she also managed 16 aces, 114 digs and 32 blocks, including four solos and 28 block assists ... the native of Malibu, Calif. contributed double-digit kills in 18 of her 29 matches played, including a season-best 24 at BYU on 10/22 in which she also collected 14 digs for one of two double-doubles on the season ... no fewer than eight programs placed at least one student-athlete on the preseason All-West Coast Conference Team ... BYU and San Diego led the way with a pair of preseason selections.

ABOUT NORTHERN ILLINOIS
Northern Illinois enters the match sporting a 0-4 overall record ... the Huskies hosted a tournament last weekend, dropping matches to High Point, Dayton and Cal Poly ... NIU then fell to Milwaukee on the road on Monday ... Kaylee Martin leads the way on the attack, collecting 39 kills (2.79 per set) ... Samantha Boever (51 assists) and Chandler Kinley (59 assists) have split time setting the attack ... the Huskies are hitting .126 as a team ... Meg Wolowicz is a blocking threat at the net, registering a solo and 15 block assists to avearge 1.14 blocks per set ... NIU is led by 16th-year head coach Ray Gooden.

ABOUT #14 OREGON
Oregon enters the week carrying a #14 overall ranking and sporting a 1-1 overall record ... the Ducks, who sat at #18 in the AVCA Preseason Poll, opened the season against #5 Nebraska, defeating the Huskers in four sets on Friday ... the schedule got even tougher from there, as Oregon dropped a four-set match to #1 Texas on Saturday night ... Lindsey Vander Weide leads the way on the attack, connecting for 30 kills (3.75 per set) on 80 swings ... Taylor Agost follows with 23 kills, while Brooke Van Sickle has accumulated 21 kills and three aces ... Maggie Scott and August Raskie split time setting the attack, logging 53 and 42 assists, respectively ... Sumeet Gill leads the way on the block, posting a block solo and 10 block assists as Oregon is averaging 2.13 blocks per set ... Oregon is led by first-year head coach Matt Ulmer.

ABOUT UTRGV
UT Rio Grande Valley enters the week sporting a 1-2 overall record ... the Vaqueros opened the 2017 season with a pair of top-25 matches, suffering sweeps at the hands of #21 Ohio State and #10 BYU ... UTRGV then rebounded to defeat Saint Louis to close play at the BYU Invitational ... Ragni Steen Knudsen leads the way on the attack, collecting 36 kills (3.60 per set) over 100 swings ... Barbara Silva and Bojana Mitrovic follow with 24 and 23 kills, respectively ... Dubravka Vukoja sets the attack, dishing out 74 assists (9.25 per set) ... three different Vaquero players average better than a block per set, led by Neronika Jandova with 11 block assists (1.10 per set) ... UTRGV is led by third-year head coach Todd Lowery.

ALL-TOURNAMENT HONORS
Following the conclusion of the USC/LMU Invitational to open the season, junior Sara Kovac and senior Kristen Castellanos were named to the All-Tournament team ... Kovac finished the three matches with 28 kills on 54 swings, averaging 2.80 kills per set while hitting .352 ... the native of Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada also added five block assists ... Castellanos, serving as LMU's libero, served up three aces while accumulating 37 digs to average 3.70 per set over the course of the tournament.

SURVEY SAYS
In a preseason poll of the Conference's 10 head coaches, LMU was selected to finish eighth in the West Coast Conference in 2017 ... after marching to a fifth consecutive NCAA Sweet-16 berth, BYU was the unanimous pick as the favorite to win the West Coast Conference Volleyball Championship ... the Cougars have won or shared the four of the last five WCC titles including three straight.

WINS FOR THE AGES
LMU has managed a few streak-stopping victories over the last three years, most notably defeating Stanford, BY and UCLA ... 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 in match two of the season ... 2015'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.

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 ... LMU was 4-2 against ranked opponents in 2015 after beating #20 UCLA (8/30), #12 BYU (10/24), #13 Colorado State (12/3) and #6 Stanford (12/4), but went 0-5 last year, dropping a four-setter to #12 UCLA on 8/27, falling in five after leading 2-0 over #6 San Diego on 9/27, dropping a four-set match at #5 USD on 10/20, and falling in five to #16 BYU on 10/22 and 11/22 ... so far this year, LMU is 0-1 against ranked foes, suffering a sweep at the hands of then 16th-ranked Michigan on 8/26.

DiG PiNK
For the 11th consecutive year, LMU volleyball will help raise awareness and funds for the fight against breast cancer through the Side-Out Foundation DiG PiNK campaign ... LMU's DiG PiNK event is scheduled for October 21 versus BYU ... fans will have the opportunity to donate at the match and bid on silent auction items, with the proceeds from the auction going to the Side-Out Foundation ... fans can donate before, during and after the match by visiting: http://bit.ly/LMUDigPink17

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 Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) Cup ... the series, which is in its ninth 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 ... LMU won the 2016-17 PCH Cup, 12-9.5 ... to learn more about the PCH Cup and view the current scorecard, please visit: lmulions.com/pchcup

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, who went 4-0 last year in neutral matches, went 4-1 in neutral matches in 2015 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 126-59 (.681) in neutral contests since the 1983 season, including having posted perfect neutral records in nine of those 34 seasons ... over that span, LMU has had only five seasons with losing records in neutral matches.

LMU VOLLEYBALL ON TWITTER & INSTAGRAM
For fans, parents and players interested in following LMU volleyball even closer this year, LMU volleyball will be posting to social media under the handle @LMU_Volleyball ... to get the inside look at LMU volleyball, make sure to follow @LMU_Volleyball on Twitter and Instagram.