Box Score

Finishing a three-match swing from the Oregon Classic in Eugene, Ore. on Saturday afternoon, LMU volleyball (3-3) defeated UTRGV (2-4) by scores of 25-16, 21-25, 25-19, 25-21, to close the weekend with a 2-1 record.

Following the match, sophomores Savannah Slattery and Emma Johnson were each named to the Oregon Classic All-Tournament team.

Four Lion players finished with double-digit kills on Saturday afternoon, including Slattery with a match-best 16 on 40 swings. Slattery, who claimed a double-double by way of 12 digs, also added one of LMU's six aces and three block assists. Led by Johnson with a block solo and six block assists, LMU finished the match with 11 team blocks.

In addition to her solid blocking numbers, Johnson also found herself with double-digit kills, notching 11 on 18 swings while hitting .556. The native of Moraga, Calif. finished the three matches with 34 kills (2.62 per set) on 56 attacks with just five errors to record a solid .518 hitting percentage. She also added three block solos and 13 block assists to contribute 43.5 total points.

Slattery finished the week with 43 kills (3.31 per set), four aces, 31 digs and eight block assists. The team leader in points, she contributed 51 over the course of the weekend.

Sophomore Megan Rice and junior Sara Kovac were the final two Lions with double-digit kills, finishing with 15 and 12, respectively. The Lions hit .227 as a team receiving sets from Jessie Prichard and Tess Reid. Prichard managed a double-double of 25 assists and 15 digs, while Reid had 23 assists and six digs.

After playing even to 9-9, LMU went on a stellar 11-2 run to open up the first set at 20-11. The run included a pair of kills from Rice and Johnson, as Johnson led all players in the opener with five kills on just six attacks. Although UTRGV drew within six points at 22-16 late in the set, LMU closed the first on a 3-0 run, capped by a Slattery kill and a UTRGV attack error.

Despite six kills from Rice, the Lion attack dipped to just .150 hitting in the second set, while UTRGV managed a .310 clip of its own en route to knotting the match tally at one set apiece headed into the break. Ragni Steen Knudsen, who led UTRGV with 13 match kills, contributed five in the second set alone.

The Lions got back to business in the third, hitting .323 behind six kills on 10 swings from Slattery. The native of Malibu, Calif. also added two block assists to help guide LMU to three blocks in the third. LMU had to come from behind following a 5-0 run from UTRGV that left the Lions trailing 10-7. A Johnson kill eventually drew the Lions even at 15-15 before LMU won nine of the next 12 points overall, reaching a set-point opportunity at 24-18 following a pair of Slattery kills and a Lion block. UTRGV managed to spoil that first opportunity, but Bojana Mitrovic erred on her next serve, handing LMU the 2-1 match lead.

LMU closed out the match in the fourth, receiving five kills apiece from Slattery and Kovac while also serving up a pair of aces to accompany three more blocks. It was another late run for LMU that resulted in victory, as the Lions turned a 20-18 deficit into a 25-21 victory by winning seven of the final eight points down the stretch. Two of the seven points came via the block, but the match-clincher came from the service area, as freshman Meredith Teague served up one of her two match aces to hand LMU the win.

LMU will return home for its next contest, hosting Long Beach State on Thursday, September 7 at 7 p.m.