LMU will face a challenging week in West Coast Conference play this week, traveling to #1 BYU on Thursday before visiting San Diego on Saturday … Thursday's match will air live on BYUtv, while the clash with the Toreros will feature live video courtesy of TheW.tv … links for all the coverage can be found at LMULions.com.

LMU LIONS (15-4, 5-3 WCC) at #1 BYU COUGARS (18-0, 8-0 WCC)
When: Thursday, October 18, 2018 | Time: 6:00 p.m. PT
Where: Provo, Utah | Venue: Smith Fieldhouse
Coverage: Watch Live on BYUtv | Live Stats
All-Time Series: 1-15 (BYU W4) | Last Meeting: BYU Won, 3-0 (11/21/17, BYU)
Notable: LMU's lone win came on 10/24/15 at LMU (3-2) ... nine of the 16 matches have gone five sets
About BYU: BYU enters the week as the top team in the nation for the sixth straight week ... the undefeated Cougars (18-0, 8-0 WCC) have already topped #2 Stanford (3-2, 8/31) ... most recently, BYU swept San Francisco and Santa Clara last week ... San Diego is the lone team to steal a set from BYU in WCC play ... Roni Jones-Perry guides the team on the attack, registering 256 kills at a rate of 4.49 per set ... she has also served up 26 aces to help BYU to 94 as a squad ... Lyndie Haddock-Eppich is the team's setter, dishing out 652 assists (11.05) and leading BYU to a national-best .328 team hitting percentage ... always one of the top blocking teams in the nation, BYU has managed a WCC-best 163 blocks (2.76 per set), led by Kennedy Eschenberg with 85 total blocks, and Heather Gneiting with 71 ... Heather Olmstead is in her fourth season as head coach at BYU.

LMU LIONS (15-4, 5-3 WCC) at SAN DIEGO TOREROS (9-9, 6-2 WCC)
When: Saturday, October 20, 2018 | Time: 12:00 p.m. PT
Where: San Diego, Calif. | Venue: Jenny Craig Pavilion
Coverage: Watch Live on TheW.tv | Live Stats
All-Time Series: 36-37 (USD W5) | Last Meeting: USD Won, 3-1 (9/25/18, LMU)
Notable: USD has won seven of the last eight overall, and 23 of the last 25
About San Diego: San Diego, which had at least received votes in the first seven AVCA polls of the year, enters the week sporting a 9-9 overall record and a 6-2 mark in the WCC ... the Toreros, picked to finish second in the WCC, most recently swept Santa Clara and San Francisco on the road last week ... Lauren Fuller and Roxie Wiblin pace the Torero attack, registering 176 and 165 kills, respectively ... Addie Picha also provides a solid option offensively, collecting 144 kills while hitting .417 ... Anna Newsome (424 assists) and Laura Madill (300 assists) split time setting the attack, as USD has hit .227 as a squad ... Kelli Berry has amassed 170 digs (3.09 per set), while Picha provides a strong presence at the net with 99 total blocks (1.52 per set) ... Jennifer Petrie is in her 20th season as head coach with San Diego.

QUICK HITS
◊ LMU's 15-4 start to the season is the best since opening the 2014 campaign 17-2
◊ LMU currently sits third in the nation in assists per set (14.12) and aces per set (1.91), and is fifth in kills per set (15.83)
◊ The Lions have received votes in the AVCA Poll in five of the last six weeks
◊ Tess Reid is third in the nation in assists per set (12.30)
◊ Emma Johnson is fifth in the nation in hitting percentage (.423; 151-41/260)
◊ LMU had a season-high seven-match win streak snapped on 9/20 at Gonzaga ... has not dropped consecutive matches all year
◊ The Lions have gone 7-1 in Saturday matches this year ... won the first seven Saturday matches (loss at Pepperdine on 10/13)
◊ LMU has had at least two players finish with double-digit kills in all but three matches this year
◊ With the win over Pacific on 10/6, the Lions are now 2-1 in five-set matches this year
◊ LMU won the Kansas Invitational from 9/7 - 9/8 (3-0) ... Tess Reid was named Tournament MVP, while Savannah Slattery and Meredith Teague garnered All-Tournament honors
◊ Tess Reid has registered a double-double in seven of LMU's first 19 matches
◊ Tess Reid and Kekai Whitford were named to the Utah State Invitational All-Tournament team after LMU went 2-1
◊ LMU won the Hilton Penn's Landing Temple Invitational Tournament Championship (3-0) to start the year … Savannah Slattery was named MVP, while Emma Johnson and Tess Reid also found spots on the All-Tournament Team
◊ The Lions served up 12 aces in a sweep of Rhode Island - 7th-most in a three-set match in LMU history
◊ LMU is 6-1 this year in neutral matches … is 134-60 (.691) in neutral contests since the 1983 season
◊ LMU is picked to finish third in the WCC – the best preseason mark since 2004
◊ With a sweep over Rhode Island, LMU improved to 18-4 in season openers over the last 22 seasons
◊ The Lions went 16-13 overall last year, including 9-9 in the WCC to claim a share of fourth place in the conference standings
◊ Eight of LMU's 13 losses last year came to a team that at least received votes in the AVCA poll (USC, Michigan, Oregon, UCLA, San Diego, BYU) ... two of the four losses this year have also come to teams who have received votes in the AVCA poll (Cal Poly, San Diego, Pepperdine)
◊ LMU made its 13th NCAA Tournament appearance in 2015, and has reached the Tournament in three of the last six years (2012, 2014, 2015)
◊ The Lions fell a win short of posting 10 WCC wins a year ago, but have posted 10+ WCC wins in three of the last four years
◊ The Lions are 314-166 (.654) at home since 1982

PRIDE IN PINK MATCH SET FOR OCTOBER 27
LMU launched the Pride in Pink initiative this year, and women's volleyball is set to host a Pride in Pink match on October 27 vs. Santa Clara ... the initiative is aimed to join LMU athletics and local groups to promote the awareness of breast cancer and raise funds for the fight against breast cancer ... fans are encouraged to join our student-athletes in wearing pink to our Pride in Pink games ... in support of the fight against breast cancer, all breast cancer survivors and those undergoing treatment are able to receive one (1) complimentary ticket to the game and up to four (4) discounted tickets for friends and family ... Pride in Pink hats and shakers will be given away to the first 100 fans in attendance.

LIONS PICKED TO FINISH THIRD IN WCC
The Lions were picked to finish third in the West Coast Conference this season in a vote of the conference's coaches … the third-place selection is the best for LMU since earning a share of second in the 2004 preseason poll … BYU was a unanimous pick to win, with San Diego receiving the Cougars' first-place vote to take second … LMU was followed in the poll by Pepperdine, Gonzaga, Santa Clara, Saint Mary's, Portland, Pacific and San Francisco … the WCC has sent at least two teams into the NCAA Tournament in every season since 2011, including four or more in three of those seven seasons … since 2000, the WCC has sent three or more teams into the tournament 12 times, including a conference-record tying six in 2003 and 2012.

NATIONAL LEADERS IN THE OFFENSE
Juniors Emma Johnson and Tess Reid are in the top-five nationally in an offensive category, as Johnson currently ranks fifth the nation in hitting percentage (.423) and Reid is third in assists per set (12.30) ... Reid has averaged at least 10 assists per set in all but one match this year, and has eclipsed 40 assists in all but four matches ... her season high is 66 assists in a five-set match against #23 Cal Poly on August 31 ... Johnson has hit better than .400 in all but eight matches, and has been held under .300 just four times ... she hit for an .875 clip against Rhode Island to open the season, and has reached double-digit kills in seven matches this year.

LOVE FOR THE LIBERO
Perhaps overshadowed by the strength of LMU's offensive attack, LMU's libero Kekai Whitford is having a stellar senior campaign in the opposite jersey ... Whitford has amassed 307 digs this year, averaging 4.45 per set to rank second in the WCC ... Whitford has finished with double-digit digs in every match this year, and has amassed 20+ in three matches, including registering 26 against Cal Poly on August 31 and versus Pacific on October 6... perhaps her finest work of the season came at Santa Clara on September 27 when she recorded 24 digs in the sweep over the Broncos ... that mark is tied for seventh-most in a three-set match in LMU history, and is the most since Betsi Metter totaled 28 against UCSB on August 25, 2012 ... LMU as a team is averaging just 13.23 digs per set - ninth in the conference overall.

CULO FINDING GROOVE FROM SERVICE AREA
LMU is one of the top serving teams in the nation, and one of its weapons seems to be getting more comfortable from the service area ... junior Bo Culo has served up 13 aces in her last five matches, including an LMU-best six in a sweep at San Francisco on September 29 ... Culo has recorded at least one ace in 11 of her last 12 matches, including multiple aces in seven of those matches ... overall, she has accumulated a team-high 32 aces (.46 per set) and has reached multiple aces in nine of the 19 matches this year.

MVP, MVP, MVP & WCC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Junior setter Tess Reid was named West Coast Conference Volleyball Player of the Week on September 10 after guiding LMU to a 3-0 record and a Tournament Championship at the Kansas Invitational that included wins over Auburn, American and Kansas ... playing less than an hour from her hometown in Lenexa, Kan., Reid, named MVP of the tournament, finished the three matches having dished out 135 assists at a rate of 13.50 per set ... she also added eight kills, four aces, 26 digs (2.60 per set) and one block assist ... with Reid at setter, LMU hit .315 as a team over the three matches ... Reid opened the weekend by posting 42 assists, four kills and an ace in a sweep over Auburn before managing a double-double of 42 assists and 14 digs in a sweep over American on Friday afternoon ... she closed tournament play on Saturday at Kansas by dishing out 51 assists to accompany four kills and three aces ... the WCC Player of the Week selection is the first of Reid's career, and the first for the Lions this year.

MVP, MVP, MVP – THE ORIGINAL
Junior outside hitter Savannah Slattery was named Tournament MVP at the Hilton Penn's Landing Temple Invitational after a stellar opening weekend ... Slattery amassed 41 total kills in the three matches, averaging 3.73 kills per set while hitting a blistering .402 on 82 swings with just eight errors ... the native of Malibu, Calif. connected for a match-best 11 kills while hitting .556 to open 2018 against Rhode Island on Friday ... in a four-set victory over Hofstra later that afternoon, Slattery hit .400 while registering 17 kills to finish one shy of the match leader ... she also added two block assists in the victory over Hofstra… Slattery closed the tournament with 13 kills and three aces against Temple.

ALL-TOURNAMENT HONORS
In addition to Slattery as MVP, LMU also featured Emma Johnson and Tess Reid on the Hilton Penn's Landing Temple Invitational All-Tournament team ... Reid set the Lion attack throughout the tournament, amassing 136 assists at a rate of 12.36 per set ... the leader from the service area, she also managed seven aces (.64 per set) ... Johnson was efficient on the attack throughout the tournament, registering 28 kills on 37 swings for a .703 hitting percentage ... the middle blocker also tied for the team lead with seven total blocks (one solo, six block assists).

ALL-TOURNAMENT HONORS – TAKE 2
At the conclusion of the Utah State Invitational, junior Tess Reid and senior Kekai Whitford were named to the All-Tournament team … Reid finished the three matches having dished out 151 assists at a rate of 13.73 per set … Reid served up three aces and managed 24 digs to accompany three block assists … with Reid setting the attack, LMU finished the three matches with a .293 team hitting percentage … Reid managed one double-double, pairing a match-best 66 assists with 14 digs against #24 Cal Poly to open the tournament … Whitford, LMU's libero throughout the tournament, posted 49 digs at a rate of 4.45 per set … the native of Costa Mesa, Calif. also served up three aces.

ALL-TOURNAMENT HONORS – TAKE 3
In addition to Reid taking home Tournament MVP, junior Savannah Slattery and sophomore Meredith Teague garnered All-Tournament honors at the Kansas Invitational ... Teague compiled 33 kills on 58 swings with just four errors (.500) while also serving up a team-best 10 aces … the native of Monroe, Wash. also added two block assists … Teague had double-digit kills in all three matches, including 12 against Auburn to open play … in that match against the Tigers, Teague hit .800 over 15 attacks and added five service aces … Slattery was LMU's leading attacker over the course of the weekend, registering 45 kills at a rate of 4.50 per set … the native of Malibu, Calif. hit .375, including .500 or better in each of the first two contests.

SLATTERY & RICE NAMED TO PRESEASON ALL-WCC TEAM
Juniors Savannah Slattery and Megan Rice were both named to the preseason All-WCC team in the preseason coaches' poll … Rice, who is expected to miss the 2018 campaign due to offseason surgery, was a first team All-WCC pick last year after transferring into the program … she played in all 29 matches for the Lions as a sophomore, finishing second on the squad in kills with 318 while serving up 25 aces and posting 57 blocks … in WCC play, she amassed 209 kills (3.17 per set) on 512 swings … Slattery, a preseason All-WCC pick last year as well, garnered All-WCC honorable mention honors as a sophomore in 2017 … a WCC All-Academic honorable mention pick, she posted 294 kills (2.72 per set) while taking a team-high 859 swings … the native of Malibu, Calif. served up 17 aces, posted 228 digs and recorded 43 total blocks.

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 ... LMU, 6-1 so far this year, went 2-0 in neutral-site matches last year ... the Lions, who were 4-0 in neutral matches in 2016, went 4-1 in neutral matches in 2015 after finishing 2014 with the same 4-1 record … overall, LMU is 134-60 (.691) in neutral contests since the 1983 season, including having posted perfect neutral records in nine of those 36 seasons ... over that span, LMU has had only five seasons with losing records in neutral matches.

WINNING THE SERVING BATTLE
LMU has developed a name for itself as one of the toughest serving teams in the WCC over the last few years, and the trend has continued in 2018 … the Lions have served up 132 aces to lead the WCC and place ninth in the nation … LMU is averaging 1.91 aces per set, first in the WCC and third in the nation ... in 2017, the Lions served up the most aces in the conference (202) while placing sixth in the nation, and averaged 1.87 per set to finish third overall in the NCAA … the 202 aces last year were fifth-most in LMU history, and the most since serving up 205 in 1993 … not only did they serve them up, they also won the overall receiving battle against opponents, allowing just 101 aces on the other side of the net (+101) ... so far this year, LMU has allowed 62 aces (+70) … in 2016, LMU served up 154 aces while allowing just 99 (+55) ... the Lions were just +2 in serving in 2009 (131-129), but have been +40 in each year since, including +63 in 2012 (162-99) and +62 in 2013 (166-104).

LMU RETURNS VETERAN ROSTER
LMU returns 10 players from last season's team that went 16-13 overall … the Lions will be led by junior setter Tess Reid, junior outside hitter Savannah Slattery, senior opposite Sara Kovac and senior libero Kekai Whitford … LMU is expected to be without junior outside hitter Megan Rice and junior setter Jessie Prichard in 2018 … Rice is recovering from surgery, while Prichard is in line to utilize a redshirt season … on the other side, LMU returns All-Freshman outside hitter Meredith Teague … other returners for the Lions include Emma Johnson, Alexis Morrow and Sierra Bartley.

LMU ADDS PAIR OF TRANSFERS, THREE FRESHMEN
Not only did LMU sign three standout freshmen in Ella Knowlton, Ella Boehle and Emilee Rohrer, the Lions also benefitted on the transfer market, bringing in junior outside hitter Bo Culo (Florida State) and sophomore setter Bailey Steger (Holy Cross) … Culo totaled 68 kills and 13 blocks for the Seminoles in 2017, while Steger appeared in 24 of the Crusaders' 29 matches and amassed 158 assists.

GET OFF ON THE RIGHT PAW
The Lions have had a knack for coming out of the gates strong in recent memory, having won 18 of their last 22 season-openers, including posting a sweep of Rhode Island to start 2018 ... LMU had dropped a pair of four-set matches to Virginia (2015) and USC (2017) recently, but the only other losses over that span came in 2007 to St. John's and then-No. 10 USC in 2010 ... LMU has recorded 11 sweeps and won in four sets on six occasions.

PROMOTIONS SCHEDULE
LMU Athletics has released the volleyball promotions schedule for 2018 … some of the highlights of this year's promotions schedule include a fanny pack giveaway on Saturday, October 6, collector's cup giveaway on Saturday, November 17 and crimson volleyball shirt giveaway on Tuesday, November 20.

REID HONES SKILLS WITH TEAM USA OVER SUMMER
Junior setter Tess Reid competed with the 2018 U.S. Collegiate National Team Detroit squad this past summer … the 24-player team, part of USA Volleyball's High Performance pipeline and considered a second tryout for the U.S. Women's National Team, played three exhibition matches against one another at the Cobo Center on June 27, June 28 and June 30 … the matches were held in conjunction with the USA Volleyball Girls' Junior National Championships under the same roof.

WATCH IT LIVE ONLINE
LMU Athletics will once again 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 … TheW.tv will also stream every conference road game this year … to watch all the action this year, please visit LMULions.com or TheW.tv.

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME
One of Southern California's premier athletic facilities, Albert Gersten Pavilion is in its 37th year as home of the Loyola Marymount volleyball in 2018 ... 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 314-166 (.654) in the friendly confines of the Pavilion ... LMU went 8-5 at home in 2017 ... in conference play, the record is even more impressive with a 163-80 (.671) home record in WCC action ... in 36 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.

PLEASE, CALL ME LMU
When referring to the university, please use LMU or Loyola Marymount University … please avoid using "Loyola" or "Marymount" alone … also, no hyphens should be used when spelling out the full name of the university … please refer to all LMU athletics teams as Lions, and refrain from using the term Lady Lions.

NEW SEASON. NEW HANDLES
LMU Athletics has unveiled new official social media handles with the aim of increasing brand consistency and fan experience, and LMU volleyball will now be posting via @LMULionsWVB … users who liked or followed the accounts previously have been automatically switched over to the new LMU Athletics and sport accounts … the process, which began with the launch of the new LMULions.com, is in an effort to align social media accounts with the overall LMU brand … main department Instagram, Facebook and Twitter accounts can be found at @lmulions, while all sport account handles now lead with @lmulions(sport).

UP NEXT
LMU will return home after the challenging road swing, welcoming San Francisco and Santa Clara to Gersten Pavilion next week ... both matches can be watched on TheW.tv with live stats found at LMULions.com.