LOS ANGELES, Calif., -- The Loyola Marymount beach volleyball team has been ranked No. 15 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Preseason Poll and have been picked to finish third in the West Coast Conference, while boasting thee players to the All-WCC Preseason Beach Volleyball Team. 
 
The AVCA announced the Lions No. 15 national ranking last week. The top-20 ranking comes after the team put together an impressive 2018 campaign, as the team went 22-14, including a 4-1 win over No. 10 Arizona, and a 3-2 win over No. 18 Saint Mary's. The Lions finished their 2018 season ranked No. 15. 
 
LMU has several top 20 teams on its schedule this year and will kick off their season this Friday against No. 16 Grand Canyon University. Other ranked opponents the Lions will play throughout the season include, No. 1 UCLA ,No. 2 USC, No. 5 Hawaii, No. 6 Cal Poly, No. 8 Long Beach State and No. 17 Stetson. 
 
The Lions were picked to finish third in the conference by 27 votes, announced by the WCC on Wednesday. No. 4 Pepperdine was picked to finish first with 36 votes and Saint Mary's was picked to finish second with 30 votes. 
 
Last season, LMU went 0-1 against Pepperdine and 2-2 against Saint Mary's. The Lions swept Saint Mary's in the regular season, but went 0-2 in the WCC Championship, ending the Lions' stint in the semifinal round. 
 
Three Lions were named to the 10-member ALL-WCC Team roster, including Sara Kovac, Jessie Prichard and Savannah Slattery.  Kovac went 23-13 last season, while Prichard went 23-13 and Slattery went 17-19. 
 
The Lions will kick off their season this Friday against GCU in Phoenix, Ariz., and will pick back up on Saturday to take on Arizona State and New Mexico.