LMU will open the 2018 season this weekend, traveling to Philadelphia, Pa. to play three matches at the Hilton Penn's Landing Temple Invitational … the Lions will begin play against Rhode Island on Friday at 8 a.m. PT before meeting Hofstra at Noon PT later that day … the Lions will close action on Saturday, clashing with the host Owls at 8 a.m. PT … all three matches will feature live stats, while the Saturday pairing with Temple will also feature live video … links for all the coverage can be found at LMULions.com.

LMU (0-0) vs. RHODE ISLAND (0-0)
When: Friday, August 24 | Time: 8:00 a.m. PT
Where: Philadelphia, Pa. | Venue: McGonigle Hall
Coverage: Live Stats
All-Time Series: 0-0 | Last Meeting: First Meeting
About Rhode Island: The Rams are coming off a 2017 campaign in which they finished sixth in the Atlantic 10 with a 6-8 league record and a 12-16 mark overall … Rhode Island was picked to finish sixth in the A-10 in this season's preseason poll … URI welcomes back nine players from last year's team, including senior Lauren Pick, who is the only returning player to have appeared in each of Rhody's 107 sets last season … she finished the year with 926 assists and 235 digs.

LMU (0-0) vs. HOFSTRA (0-0)
When: Friday, August 24 | Time: 12:00 p.m. PT
Where: Philadelphia, Pa. | Venue: McGonigle Hall
Coverage: Live Stats
All-Time Series: 0-0 | Last Meeting: First Meeting
About Hofstra: Hofstra, picked to finish third in the Colonial Athletic Association, is coming off an 18-14 season that included a 9-7 mark in the CAA … the Pride return 11 players from last season's roster, including all seven starters … leading the way among the returnees is preseason CAA Player of the Year Laura Masciullo … she was joined on the preseason All-CAA squad by senior Michela Rucli, while junior Luisa Sydlik is back as well after a stellar second season in a Pride uniform.

LMU (0-0) at TEMPLE (0-0)
When: Saturday, August 25 | Time: 8:00 a.m. PT
Where: Philadelphia, Pa. | Venue: McGonigle Hall
Coverage: Live Stream | Live Stats
All-Time Series: 0-0 | Last Meeting: First Meeting
About Temple: Temple returns nine players from the 2017 season that saw the team go 20-10 overall, including 15-5 in the American to claim second place … the Owls, picked to finish third in the conference race this year, advanced to the round of 16 in the National Invitational Volleyball Championship before falling to West Virginia … Temple returns a pair of All-Conference selections in Iva Deak and Dana Westfield.

QUICK HITS
◊ LMU is picked to finish third in the WCC – the best preseason mark since 2004
◊ 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)
◊ LMU dropped the season opener last year (USC) for just the fourth time in the last 21 seasons (17-4)
◊ 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 311-165 (.653) at home since 1982

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.

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.

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 17 of their last 21 season-openers ... LMU has 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 10 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.

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 went 2-0 in neutral-site matches last year ... the Lions, who went 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 128-59 (.684) 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.

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 certainly continued 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 … 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) ... 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's 202 aces last year were fifth-most in LMU history, and the most since serving up 205 in 1993.

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 311-165 (.653) 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 161-79 (.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.

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 continue the 2018 campaign on the road next week, traveling to Logan, Utah to face Cal Poly, Utah State and UTRGV at the Utah State Tournament.