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Lions Host DoubleTree Los Angeles Westside Invitational
Aug. 23, 2012
LOS ANGELES, Calif. -
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THIS WEEK: LMU will begin the 2012 season this weekend when it hosts UConn, Iona College and UC Santa Barbara for the DoubleTree Los Angeles Westside Invitational...the two-day tournament will see the Lions open their season against UConn on Friday at 7 p.m...LMU will then return to action on Saturday at 12 p.m., hosting Iona College, before closing tournament play with a match against UC Santa Barbara at 7 p.m... TOURNAMENT NOTES: The DoubleTree Los Angeles Westside Invitational will begin on Friday at 4 p.m. when Iona College and UC Santa Barbara do battle in Gersten Pavilion...after LMU and UConn finish Friday's action with the evening match at 7 p.m., the Gauchos and Huskies will resume play on Saturday at 10 a.m...LMU and Iona College will play at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday before UConn draws Iona College in the 4:30 p.m. match...the Lions will then host the Gauchos in the final match of the tournament on Saturday at 7:00 p.m...the match between the two squads is LMU's Team LMU Match of the Week...every match will offer online live video and stats at LMULions.com... TOURNAMENT LINKS SEASON TICKET SCARF: LMU's season ticket scarf campaign is back once again - and it's better than ever...LMU is offering the Season Ticket Scarf Pack for season access to not only volleyball, but to women's basketball, men's soccer, women's soccer, men's water polo, women's water polo, softball and baseball at one low price...for just $30, you get access to all home preseason and regular season events for volleyball and these additional seven Division I programs - more than 100 home games at LMU...in addition, as the name suggests, the Season Ticket comes with the limited edition LMU Scarf, which is your access to those 100-plus games...for more information, and to purchase, please visit: http://tinyurl.com/8b4v2qn GET OFF ON THE RIGHT PAW: The Lions have had a knack for coming out of the gates strong in recent memory, having won 13 of their last 15 season-openers, including a four-set victory over Cal State Fullerton to open the 2011 season...the only losses over that span came in 2007 to St. John's and then-No. 10 USC in 2010...LMU has recorded seven sweeps and won in four sets on five occasions... PICKED BEFORE THE SERVE: Junior Betsi Metter was the lone Lion named to the 2012 WCC Preseason All-Conference team...named West Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year after posting a conference-best 538 digs at a rate of 4.89 per set, Metter garnered honorable mention All-West Coast Conference honors as a sophomore while also claiming a spot on the All-Academic squad last year...the 538 digs and 4.89 digs per set were good enough to rank second in LMU's single-season record book...on the serve, Metter managed 42 aces at a rate of 0.38 per set to place third in the WCC...staking her claim as one of the best players in the conference, she was named WCC Player of the Week on October 31 - the only libero lauded by the WCC throughout the season... THE SURVEY SAYS: According to the nine West Coast Conference head coaches, the LMU women's volleyball team is tabbed to finish tied for sixth in the WCC this year...Saint Mary's College and the University of San Diego each received 59 points and four first place votes to share the top spot in the preseason poll...the Gaels finished fourth last season, while the Toreros finished second behind Pepperdine...this year, the Waves were chosen to finish third with 53 points and the remaining first place vote in the poll...BYU, last year's third-place finisher, was picked to finish fourth this season with 42 points, followed by the University of San Francisco with 33...LMU and Santa Clara University tied for sixth with 27 points apiece, while the University of Portland and Gonzaga University rounded out the list with 13 points and 11 points, respectively... ALL-CONFERENCE RETURNERS: In addition to Betsi Metter on the honorable mention team, LMU's Litara Keil also received postseason honors from the West Coast Conference...the native of Long Beach, Calif. took home All-Freshman team honors...a COBRA Magazine All-Southwest Region selection, Keil started all 30 matches in her inaugural year, leading all LMU players on the block with 20 block solos and 85 block assists at a rate of 0.97 blocks per set...making a name for herself right away, Keil posted a season-best three block solos in her first match of her career against Cal State Fullerton on August 26... LION TRACKS: LMU began the 2012 season the same way it always does - with the annual Alumnae Match...the event took place on Saturday and saw more than a dozen former Lions return to Gersten Pavilion to either play in or watch the event...the current squad had little trouble taking down the returners, but fun was had by all in attendance...current and former Lions were invited to attend a reception following the event, where the two groups were able to reconnect... HOME SWEET HOME: One of Southern California's premier athletic facilities, Albert Gersten Pavilion is in its 31st year as home of the Loyola Marymount Lions...since opening night, the Pavilion has become one of toughest places to play in the West Coast Conference...the Lions first moved into the facility in 1982, and recorded 14 wins in Gersten's inaugural season...since 1982, the Lions have posted an overall record of 254-137 (.650) in the friendly confines of the Pavilion...in conference play, the record is even more impressive with a 128-60 (.681) home record in WCC action...in 30 years, the 1996 (WCC volleyball championship team and Sweet Sixteen participant) and 2003 (NCAA second round appearance) squads have been the most successful with 14-1 marks, for .933 winning percentages...
WHAT A CLASS: LMU volleyball's incoming recruiting class was tabbed Highest Honorable Mention by PrepVolleyball.com for the second straight year...the class includes incoming freshmen Sara Myers (OH - Episcopal School of Dallas), Rachelle Suaava (MB/RS - Long Beach Poly) and Hannah Tedrow (S - Orange Lutheran), in addition to transfer Kathleen Luft (OH - University of Georgia) and walk-on Avery Bush...LMU was one of just two West Coast Conference schools on the list, as Pepperdine was also lauded...in order to determine the top recruiting classes, PrepVolleyball.com petitions a panel of college coaches from across the country to develop the list... U-S-A, U-S-A, U-S-A: For the third consecutive summer, LMU volleyball head coach Tom Black served as a consultant coach for the US Women's National Team as it prepared for the 2012 London Games...Black primarily assisted in the training sessions at the American Sports Center...while working with the US squad, which earned a silver medal at the Olympics, Black instructed alongside volleyball legends in Head Coach Hugh McCutcheon and coaches Karch Kiraly and Paula Weishoff... BIG WEST...BIG PEST: LMU is slated to play three teams from the Big West Conference this year...the Lions will host UC Santa Barbara (August 25) and UC Irvine (August 31) in tournament play before traveling to Cal State Northridge (Nov. 10)...the Lions have played fairly well against the Big West under Head Coach Tom Black, sporting a 6-4 overall record, but the program overall is sub-.500 at 78-91...LMU has had its most success against Cal State Fullerton, going 22-4 overall, including 2-0 under Black...Long Beach State has been the hardest on the Lions, holding a 17-3 mark all-time against LMU... ONLINE YEARBOOK: LMU Athletics is proud to offer fans interactive yearbooks once again this year...all LMU yearbooks bring fans clickable content featuring videos and live updated web links...LMU interactive yearbooks will continue to feature player and coach biographies, team histories, and information about Loyola Marymount University and its athletics programs, while working in tandem with LMU's official athletics website, www.LMULions.com, to offer up-to-date statistics and news...to view the 2012 volleyball yearbook, please visit: http://tinyurl.com/9gkj3t9 IT'S JUST A NUMBER...: The Lions are scheduled to play eight matches this year against teams that at least received votes in the 2012 AVCA Division I Coaches Top-25 Preseason Poll...the ranked foes will all come in conference play, as Pepperdine (No. 11), San Diego (No. 19), BYU and Saint Mary's all at least received votes...LMU played five matches against ranked foes last year, finishing 0-5 in those contests...rankings have been nothing short of perfect in the recent past when predicting LMU's fate against ranked opponents, as the Lions have dropped 31 consecutive matches against those teams...the last Lion victory against a ranked opponent came on October 5, 2006 at Santa Clara, as the Lions earned a sweep of the then-No. 12 Broncos... UCONN HUSKIES: UConn enters the 2012 season predicted to finish 10th in the 14-team BIG EAST conference...Connecticut finished 14-15 overall in 2011 and 4-10 in BIG EAST contests to earn 12th...the Huskies return five starters and lose just two...a trio of seniors in Kelsey Maving (578 digs, 16 aces), Mattison Quayle (323 kills, 28 aces) and Angela Roidt (1,038 assists, 211 digs) will lead the team this year...head coach Holly Strauss-O'Brien, who is in her eighth year, welcomes four newcomers to the program in 2012... IONA COLLEGE GAELS: Iona College enters the 2012 season predicted to finish seventh in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference...Iona College finished 12-14 overall in 2011 and 9-9 in MAAC contests to earn a share of sixth place...preseason All-MAAC selection Catrina Warren is expected to lead the team this year...Warren, just a sophomore, led all Iona performers with a .314 hitting percentage and 100 total blocks (1.06 per set) last year...her 247 kills were second on the team behind returning junior outside hitter Alicja Pawelec...head coach Jon Killingbeck, who is in his second year, currently sports 13 underclassmen on his roster as he looks to lead Iona back into the MAAC Championship after the young Gael squad fell short of qualifying last season for the first time since 2001.... GAUCHO GOSSIP: UC Santa Barbara enters the 2012 season predicted to finish fourth in the Big West Conference...UC Santa Barbara finished 19-12 overall in 2011 and 11-5 in Big West contests to earn second place...junior Leah Sully is expected to lead the offense once again this year after posting a team-best 370 kills at a rate of 3.01 per set last year...Jenna Wilson will be the main force at middle blocker after averaging 0.96 blocks per set and posting 103 kills in as many sets played...head coach Kathy Gregory, who is in her 38th year, returns just three starters from last year....  For the sixth consecutive year, LMU volleyball will help raise awareness and funds for the fight against breast cancer through the DiG PiNK campaign...LMU's DiG PiNK event will be played on October 4 versus BYU...to view LMU's team page, and to make a donation, please visit: http://tinyurl.com/8e9xkh5 WELLS FARGO PCH CUP: Separated by 19.1 miles of scenic coastline, longtime cross-town adversaries Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine have come together in an effort to boost their decades-long rivalry with the creation of the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) Challenge...the series, which is in its fourth year, serves as an annual scorecard for the NCAA-sponsored athletic contests between the Lions and Waves, and challenges each institution to rise above the other within the West Coast Conference...any head-to-head competition, including matches in the post-season and tournaments throughout the year, will be counted toward the scoring and added to the scorecard as they occur...for the sports in which the two teams do not meet head-to-head, the teams will battle for points that will be awarded on the basis of overall finish at their respective post-season championships...Pepperdine has won the challenge in each of the first three seasons...to learn more about the PCH Challenge and view the current scorecard, please visit: http://tinyurl.com/6n4l82s LET'S SETTLE THIS ON NEUTRAL GROUND: LMU has been extremely impressive in matches played at neutral sites, in which neither team is playing on their home court...LMU was 4-2 in neutral matches last year after finishing 6-2 in 2010...overall, LMU is 37-10 (.787) in neutral contests over the last 11 seasons, including having posted perfect neutral records in five of those 11 seasons...over that span, the only year in which LMU did not manage at least a .500 record was in 2004 - playing to a 0-2 mark... |
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