Aug. 30, 2012

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -

2012 Volleyball Release

THIS WEEK: LMU will share hosting duties this week with UC Irvine, joining forces to host the LMU/UCI Dual Tournament over the weekend...LMU will host three matches, including two on Friday and one on Saturday...the Lions will open play against Colgate on Friday at 12 p.m. before hosting UC Irvine at 7 p.m...LMU's portion of the tournament concludes on Saturday at 3 p.m. when Arizona State comes to Gersten Pavilion...

TOURNAMENT NOTES: All three matches at LMU will be streamed free of charge online at LMULions.com...Nebraska will also compete in the tournament, meeting Colgate and UC Irvine at Irvine on Saturday...

LION TRACKS: Host LMU finished the 2012 DoubleTree Los Angeles Westside Invitational with a 2-1 record, defeating UConn and Iona College in three sets before being swept by UC Santa Barbara in the final match of the tournament...Lion juniors Betsi Metter and Kathleen Luft were each named to the All-Tournament team at the conclusion of play...

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

DOUBLETREE ALL-TOURNEY: Two players from each of the participating schools at the DoubleTree Los Angeles Westside Invitational were named to the All-Tournament team, including LMU's Betsi Metter and Kathleen Luft...Metter, LMU's starting libero, posted 60 digs at a rate of 6.67 digs/set...the reigning WCC Defensive Player of the Year posted a match-best 28 digs against UC Santa Barbara on Saturday night - her best mark this year and the second-most in a three-set match for LMU since 1998...she also managed 20 in three sets against UConn to open the season, placing tied for 10th-best at LMU since 1998...Luft, who transferred to LMU from Georgia, had a stellar debut weekend for the Lions, posting a team-high tying 33 kills at a rate of 3.67 per set...the junior hit .301 over the three matches, including a blistering .591 against Iona College on Saturday afternoon...

AS CONSISTENT AS THEY COME: All three of LMU's matches this year have been settled in three sets, sweeping UConn and Iona College before being swept by UC Santa Barbara...sophomore Litara Keil has amassed 11 kills in each of the first three matches this year...Hannah Tedrow as dished-out 30+ assists in each of the first three matches this year...

GET OFF ON THE RIGHT PAW: The Lions have had a knack for coming out of the gates strong in recent memory, having won 14 of their last 16 season-openers, including a three-set victory over UConn to open the 2012 season...the only losses over that span came in 2007 to St. John's and then-No. 10 USC in 2010...LMU has recorded eight 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...

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 256-138 (.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...

The purpose of TEAM LMU is to bring Lion fans together as one, creating an atmosphere that helps build the Lions into champions, while allowing all to enjoy the benefits of our corporate partners...for more information about TEAM LMU, log on to: http://www.LMULions.com/teamlmu

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 were swept by UC Santa Barbara on August 25, and will play UC Irvine (August 31) in tournament play before traveling to Cal State Northridge (Nov. 10)...the Lions have played nearly even against the Big West under Head Coach Tom Black, sporting a 6-5 overall record, but the program overall is sub-.500 at 78-92...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...

RAIDER RANTS: Colgate enters the week sporting a 0-3 record after dropping three matches to Bryant, Illinois-Chicago and Syracuse last weekend...the Raiders are led by Lindsay Young on the attack with 41 kills at a rate of 3.73 per set...Young is hitting at a .308 clip while also serving-up a pair of aces...Caitlin Cremin has accumulated half of Colgate's 14 service aces...Kaylee Fifer sets the offense, dishing out 90 assists at a rate of 7.50 per set...Colgate is coached by seventh-year head coach Ryan Baker...

ANTEATER NOTES: UC Irvine enters the week sporting a 1-2 overall record after falling to Kansas State and Oregon State before knocking off Oakland for its first win of the year...Aly Squires leads the offense with 41 kills at a rate of 4.10 per set...Kristin Winkler is the team's libero, accumulating 68 digs at a rate of 6.80 per set...Marissa Alvarez has set the offense to a .155 hitting percentage, passing out 107 assists (10.70 per set)...Shannon Fleming is the team's leading server, posting six of UCI's 11 aces...UC Irvine is led by fourth-year head coach Paula Weishoff...

SCOUTING THE SUN DEVILS: Arizona State enters the week sporting a 3-0 record after beating Idaho State, Fresno State and UTEP last weekend...Erica Wilson and Macey Gardner pace the offense, collecting 55 and 44 kills, respectively...Wilson also leads the squad in aces at 11...Allison Palmer has set the offense to a .237 hitting percentage, dishing-out 134 assists at a rate of 11.17 per set...strong on the block, Arizona State has notched 28 team blocks (2.33 per set), including 18 block assists from Alexis Pinson...Arizona State is led by fifth-year head coach Jason Watson...

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...

- GO LIONS -