Capturing its second Tournament Championship of the year on Saturday morning, LMU volleyball (8-1) topped Kansas (4-4) on the road by scores of 25-20, 28-26, 23-25, 25-17 to finish 3-0 on the weekend and win the Kansas Invitational.

MVP, MVP, MVP
Playing less than an hour from her hometown in Lenexa, Kan., junior setter Tess Reid seemed right at home this weekend, capturing Tournament MVP honors after guiding LMU to the 3-0 weekend … Reid finished the three matches having dished out 135 assists at a rate of 13.50 per set … Reid 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.

TEAGUE, SLATTERY NAMED ALL-TOURNAMENT
Sophomore Meredith Teague was named to the All-Tournament team after helping to guide LMU to a 3-0 weekend and the Tournament Championship in Kansas … 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.

TRADING COMEBACKS
After LMU captured the first set running away, the Lions needed a comeback in the second to push ahead 2-0 in the match score … the Lions trailed 21-16 late in the second, but won five straight points to draw even at 21 and send the set into a seesaw battle … still knotted at 26, LMU received a kill from Emma Johnson followed by a service ace from Kekai Whitford to steal the set … just as the Lions came from behind in the second, Kansas responded late to stay alive with a comeback in the third … LMU held a 20-15 advantage looking for the sweep, but the Jayhawks clawed back even at 20-20, and eventually took the set having won 10 of the final 13 points in the stanza.

BOX SCORE NOTES
Slattery led the way on the attack for LMU, finishing with a match-best 18 kills on 41 swings … senior Sara Kovac also contributed double-digit kills, finding the floor 16 times to accompany an ace and one block … the Lions hit .246 compared to Kansas at .278, but LMU served up nine aces to just one from the Jayhawks … Kansas managed to control the net, out-blocking LMU, 13-3, led by Rachel Langs with eight block assists … Whitford led all players with 18 digs, and no Kansas player finished with double-digit digs … Jada Burse paced the Jayhawk attack, collecting 15 kills on 36 swings.

LION NOTES
LMU's 8-1 record to start the season is the best since beginning the 2014 campaign 12-0 … LMU has now won two tournaments, also capturing the Hilton Penn's Landing Temple Invitational title to open the year … Reid has now been named to the All-Tournament team in each of the three tournaments this year … Slattery earns the honor for the second time (Temple Invitational).

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
"Our team keeps getting better. We were tested in a lot of different ways this tournament and we responded really well to adversity along the way which allowed us to sustain a high level of play most of the tournament. I'm very proud of how aggressive our team was in every facet of the game. We are excited to keep showing up at practice and seeing how good we can get." – Head Coach Aaron Mansfield

NEXT ROTATION
LMU will conclude a string of 10 straight matches on the road to start the season, traveling to Long Beach, Calif. for a neutral match against Southern Utah at 5 p.m. PT on Friday, September 14 … the Lions will then host Lamar on Saturday, September 15 at 12 p.m. PT in the home opener from Gersten Pavilion.