Aug. 4, 2009

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -

Complete Release in PDF Format

According to the 2009 Coaches Preseason Poll, the LMU volleyball team is picked to finish sixth this year in the competitive West Coast Conference, the conference office announced on Tuesday afternoon. San Diego, which has won four of the last five WCC Championships, was a unanimous selection to finish first once again in the WCC, earning seven of the eight first-place votes (a team cannot vote for itself) to earn 49 points.

Saint Mary's, picked to finish third, received the only other first-place vote, falling just one point short of second-place Pepperdine in the preseason poll, collecting 37 to the Waves' 38. Santa Clara was right in the thick of things as well, claiming 35 points and the fourth spot on the list. San Francisco (24 points) and LMU (21 points) hold the fifth and sixth spots, respectively, while Gonzaga and Portland each earned 10 points to share seventh overall.

Along with Gonzaga and Portland, the Lions did not place a player on the preseason All-Conference squad, while Saint Mary's (Megan Burton, Kapua Kamana'o, Shannon Lowell) garnered three selections to lead all teams. USF (Haley Carroll, Sarah Mandala), San Diego (Amy DeGroot, Ali Troost) and Pepperdine (Kiah Fiers, Kim Hill) each placed two players on the squad. Santa Clara's Lindsy Davigeadono represented the Broncos as the final name on the 10-player list.

Although the West Coast Conference had one of its finest showings last year, LMU is coming off of the first sub-.500 season (13-17, 3-11 WCC) in Head Coach Steve Stratos' 19-year tenure at the helm of the program. Establishing itself as one of the strongest volleyball conferences in the country, five West Coast Conference teams made the trip to the postseason a year ago, the most since it sent a conference-record six teams in 2003. Last year's total also marked the highest percentage of teams from any conference in the country to make it to the tournament. In addition, the five teams last year marked the 12th year in a row that the WCC had sent at least three teams to the playoffs.

LMU's pursuit to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2005 begins on August 28 at the Texas Christian University Tournament. The Lions will hit the floor once before that trip, hosting their annual Alumnae Match on August 22.

Preseason Poll
1. USD - 49 points (7)
2. PEP - 38
3. SMC - 37 (1)
4. SCU - 35
5. USF - 24
6. LMU - 21
7. GON - 10
7. POR - 10
(first place votes)

All-Conference Team
Megan Burton, SMC
Haley Carroll, USF
Lindsy Davigeadono, SCU
Amy DeGroot, USD
Kiah Fiers, PEP
Kim Hill, PEP
Kapua Kamana'o, SMC
Shannon Lowell, SMC
Sarah Mandala, USF
Ali Troost, USD

-GO LIONS-