Opening the season at the Hilton Penn's Landing Temple Invitational in Philadelphia, Pa., LMU volleyball (1-0) recorded a 25-18, 25-10, 25-19 sweep over Rhode Island (0-1) on Friday morning from Temple's McGonigle Hall.

REID SHINES IN SEASON OPENER
Junior setter Tess Reid looked in mid-season form in the opener, dishing out 30 assists to accompany a team-best four aces, six digs and two block assists … Reid posted two of the aces in the first set before tacking on two more in the second.

SLATTERY EFFICIENT ON THE ATTACK
Junior outside hitter Savannah Slattery came out swinging, connecting for a match-best 11 kills on just 18 attacks and one error to post a .556 hitting percentage … Slattery posted five kills on seven swings in the first, managed two kills on as many chances in the second, and closed the match with four kills on nine errorless attacks in the third.

CULO HAS STRONG DEBUT FOR LIONS
Junior transfer Bo Culo looked very comfortable in a Lion uniform in her debut, managing nine kills to go along with three aces and six digs … the native of Bjelovar, Croatia finished the match with 12 points to guide all players … Culo transferred into the program after playing two years at Florida State.

WINNING THE SERVING BATTLE
LMU picked up right where it left off in terms of serving, amassing 12 aces while allowing none on the other side of the net … Reid led the way with four, while Culo and Meredith Teague added three apiece … last year, LMU 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 … as they did on Friday morning, 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).

BOX SCORE NOTES
LMU hit .253 as a team while holding Rhode Island to a .049 clip … the Rams managed seven team blocks to LMU's four … senior Kekai Whitford led all players with 13 digs … Jenna McGuire paced the Rams on the block, notching five block assists.

LION NOTES
LMU improved to 18-4 in season-openers over the last 22 seasons … 11 of the 18 victories have now come via the sweep … the Lions are 1-0 this year in neutral matches, and move to 129-59 (.686) in neutral contests since the 1983 season … LMU's 12 aces are tied for seventh-most in a three-set match in LMU history (last: August 27, 2011 vs. Quinnipiac).

PURCHASE YOUR TICKETS
LMU still has 10 home matches remaining to be played in Gersten Pavilion … members of LMU's Little Lions Club get into all LMU home volleyball matches as part of the membership, while students, faculty and staff with a valid One Card also receive free General Admission access to every home match … to purchase season or single-game tickets, please contact the LMU Box Office at 310-338-5466 or visit LMULions.com/buywvb.

QUOTABLE
"It was good to get the nerves out the first game. We served the ball tough and did a nice job adjusting our defense as the match went on. We play a good Hofstra team next, so we'll recover and start preparing for them." – Head Coach Aaron Mansfield

NEXT ROTATION
LMU will continue action from the Hilton Penn's Landing Temple Invitational on Friday with a Noon PT match against Hofstra.