HOUSTON, Tx. – The Loyola Marymount University volleyball team (3-2) split at its first day of the Rice University Tournament on Friday, as the team lost to Rice 3-1, and swept Abilene Christian 3-0. 
 
LMU vs. Rice University – 21-25, 25-13, 25-21, 25-23
 
The Lions took on Rice in their first match of the tournament. LMU came out strong in the first set, as Savannah Slattery set the tone, putting the first point on the board. Rice took the lead two times and tied things up six times, but the Lions extended the lead at 20-19 after a kill by Slattery. A kill by Emmelyn Walters gave the Lions the win in the first set, 25-21. 
 
LMU battled in the second set, as the team took the lead first, but was never able to take it back. Rice went on several runs, beating the Lions 25-13. 
 
Tied at 1-1, the Lions fought back in the third set, with two lead changes and seven tied scores, but Rice picked up their second set of the match, winning 7-2. 
 
Down 2-1, the fourth set was neck and neck. Slattery put the first point on the board, Rice quickly tied things up. The teams tied things up 10 times, while there were five lead changes. The Lions fought until the end, as Meredith Teague's kill made it a 24-23 game, but Rice took the set and the game after a kill. 
 
Rose Booth led the team in kills with 14, while Slattery and Emma Johnson had 11. Tess Reid led. The team in assists, with 29, while Jessie Prichard had 19. The team had six total blocks, with two coming from Teague and two coming from Booth. Mary Shroll tallied up 18 of the team's 62 digs. 
 
LMU vs. Abilene Christian – 25-13, 25-23, 25-
Down 1-0 on the day, the Lions turned the momentum around when the Lions took on ACU. ACU put the first point on the board, but the Lions quickly tied things up and took the lead after a kill from Sierra Bartley and a block from Teague. ACU was only able to tie things back up one more time at 2-2 and the Lions extended the lead. The Lions went on a 7-2 run and won the set 25-13. 
 
Up 1-0, the Lions had a neck and neck second set, as the score was tied 14 times and there were three lead changes. A service error by ACU and a kill by Slattery gave the Lions the 25-23 win. 
 
Abilene Christian put the first two points on the board in the third set, but the Lions came back at 3-3 to tie things up. Another tight set, LMU tied things up eight times and there were three lead changes. A kill by Booth gave the Lions the third set win, 25-23. 
 
Bartley led the team in kills with 14, while Booth had 13. Shroll put up 14 of the Lions' 14 digs, while Reid led the team in assists with 40. The Lions had four total blocks. 
 
Up Next:
The Lions will be back in action Saturday morning at 10 AM to take on Rice University.