Locked in another tight match from the Hilton Penn's Landing Temple Invitational on Saturday morning, LMU volleyball (3-0) recovered after dropping the opening set to eventually record an 18-25, 25-18, 25-23, 25-20 victory over the host Owls (1-1) to capture the Tournament Championship inside McGonigle Hall.

MVP, MVP, MVP
Junior outside hitter Savannah Slattery finished off an impressive opening weekend on Saturday, posting 13 kills with a team-best three aces … for her efforts, Slattery was named Tournament MVP ... she 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.

ALL-TOURNAMENT HONORS
In addition to Slattery as MVP, LMU also featured Emma Johnson and Tess Reid on the 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).

CONSECUTIVE DOUBLE-DOUBLES FOR KOVAC
After teaming a match-high 18 kills with 14 digs on Friday afternoon to record her first double-double of the season, senior Sara Kovac added one more on Saturday, pairing a match-high tying 15 kills with 11 digs … Kovac also pitched in one of LMU's eight service aces to accompany a block assist.

MARATHON, NOT A SPRINT
Just as it did on Friday afternoon against Hofstra, LMU struggled a bit in the opening set, but rebounded nicely over the final three stanzas to record a victory … the Lions hit just .029 in the first set, committing 11 attack errors while allowing a .368 clip on the other side of the net.

ANOTHER SECOND-SET TURNAROUND
LMU's run on the momentum came in the second set of the win over Hofstra on Friday, and the same was true in the second set on Saturday … the Lions trailed 10-6 early in the period, but eventually took the lead at 12-11 following back-to-back service aces from Slattery … Slattery then connected for a kill to run LMU's advantage to 19-15 and force a Temple timeout before the Lions captured the set on a Temple attack error.

LION ATTACK HITS .515 IN THE THIRD
LMU led virtually the entire way in the third set, but the two teams played to seven tie scores, including finding themselves knotted at 18 late in the period … LMU, which hit .515 in the stanza, earned two big points from there, as Bo Culo found the floor in front of a Kekai Whitford service ace that forced a Temple timeout … after a Slattery kill pushed LMU to 24-22, Emma Johnson put the set away with her third kill of the set … Slattery finished the period with five kills on nine attacks, while Kovac managed six on 10 errorless swings.

CLOSING IT OUT
After another back-and-forth start to the set that saw LMU and Temple even at 15-15, LMU made its run, eventually building a 20-16 lead on back-to-back kills from Slattery … the Lions moved to match point at 24-19 on Culo's 15^th kill of the match before Temple's Iva Deak committed an attacking error to seal the victory.

BOX SCORE NOTES
LMU hit .300 in the four-set win while allowing a .280 hitting percentage for Temple … Whitford amassed a match-best 13 digs … junior setter Tess Reid dished out 53 assists while running the offense … LMU managed four blocks to Temple's three … Johnson hit a blistering .786 while collecting 11 kills on 14 errorless attacks … four Lions finished with double-digit kills (Culo, Kovac, Slattery, Johnson) … the two teams played to 29 tie scores, but just five lead changes … Miray Bolukbasi paced the Owl attack with 12 kills while hitting .345.

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
"The team showed a lot of resilience in losing the first game against Hofstra and Temple and winning both of the matches in four. We kept learning and getting better as all the matches went on. This weekend was a great indication of the work we put in during double days, and it's exciting to see all of the areas we can improve in going forward. When everyone does their jobs within our system, we are tough to beat." – Head Coach Aaron Mansfield

NEXT ROTATION
LMU will open play at the Utah State Tournament on Friday with a 9 a.m. PT match against Cal Poly.