LMU VOLLEYBALL NOTES Gersten Pavilion | One LMU Drive | Los Angeles, CA 90045 | www.LMULions.com | @LMULions @LMU_Volleyball | WVB Contact: Tyler Geivett | tgeivett@lmu.edu | (310) 338-7638
LMU (20-8, 11-5 WCC) | PEPPERDINE (17-12, 8-8 WCC) November 21, 2015 | Gersten Pavilion | Match 29 | Home 14
QUICK HITS ◊ LMU snapped a three-match losing streak with a victory over Saint Mary’s on 10/3 ... has now won 11 of its last 13 matches ... owns an RPI of 26 entering this week ... has recorded back-to-back 20+ win seasons for the first time since 1999-00 ... has posted 10+ WCC wins in consecutive years for the first time since 1996-97 ... is ranked 17th in the nation (2nd in WCC) in assists/per set (13.38) and 24th in the nation (1st in WCC) in kills (1,532) ... has played 10 five-set matches this year (7-3 record) after playing 6 such matches last season ... has been swept just twice this year (10/22 vs. USD & 11/12 at Santa Clara) ... has won 21 of 28 first sets this year (15-6 in those matches), but is 5-2 when the opponent wins the first set ... made its 12th appearance in the NCAA Tournament last year, and its second trip in the last three years (dropped the First Round match to Michigan State) ... finished 5th in the WCC (23-8 overall | 11-7 WCC) and was one of four WCC teams in the NCAA Tournament (LMU, BYU, USD, SCU) ... had five players awarded with All-Conference honors last year, including three first-team selections (DeWitt, Keil, Tedrow) and two All-Freshman selections (Sponcil, Castellanos) ... the three first-team selections were the most since LMU earned three in 1996 ... earned a National Ranking last year for the first time since 2004 ... reached 20 wins for the first time since 2003 (26-7) ... is 294-154 (.656) at home since 1982. ◊ TOM BLACK collected win #100 as head coach at LMU with a five-set victory over Saint Mary’s on 10/29 ... now owns 104. ◊ JAMIE LEA has managed double-digit kills in all but six matches this year ... collected 25 kills against Santa Clara on 10/17 - the most for a Lion since 2012 (Kat Luft) ... is averaging a team-best 3.64 kills per set (8th in WCC). ◊ SARAH SPONCIL claimed WCC Player of the Week on 11/2 (guided LMU to a 2-0 week | averaged 4.25 kills per set (34 total) while hitting .400 over two matches) ... was named Lumberjack Classic All-Tournament ... recorded a triple-double vs. Virginia on 8/28 (13 K | 28 A | 17 D) - the first for LMU since Heather Hughes had 19 K, 11 A, 11 D vs. Gonzaga on 11/1/07 ... has managed at least a double-double in all but 12 matches this year ... is hitting .268 while leading the team in kills with 390 ... was named a preseason All-WCC selection. ◊ RACHELLE SUAAVA was named Lumberjack Classic All-Tournament ... is hitting .283 (323-127/693) with a team-best 121 block assists and 8 block solos (1.19 per set) ... ranks 1st in WCC in total blocks (129) and 4th in blocks per set. ◊ HANNAH TEDROW took home WCC Player of the Week on 10/19 (guided LMU to a 2-0 week | averaged 14.62 assists per set) ... posted 77 assists against Santa Clara on 10/17 - tied for sixth-most in LMU history for a single match, and the most since 2005 ... is averaging 11.67 assists per set (1st in WCC | 10th in nation) ... was named a preseason All-WCC selection. ◊ KEKAI WHITFORD was named Lumberjack Classic All-Tournament. THIS WEEK Having won 11 of its last 13 matches overall, LMU will continue West Coast Conference play at home this week, hosting Wells Fargo PCH Cup rival Pepperdine on Saturday at Noon ... Saturday’s match will be Senior Day, as LMU will recognize its five seniors ... live stats and video links for Saturday’s match can be found at LMULions.com. SEEKING A TOURNAMENT BERTH With two matches left to be played, the Lions are looking to finish the season strong and earn their third NCAA Tournament bid in the last four years ... the 2015 NCAA Volleyball selection show will be aired live Sunday, November 29 on ESPNU at 6 pm PT ... first and second-round action will be contested December 4-6 ... if the Lions earn a bid into the tournament, it would be LMU’s 13th trip to the NCAA Tournament ... LMU has been sent to Stanford the last two times it reached the Tournament. LION TRACKS LMU split a pair of West Coast Conference matches on the road last week, suffering a sweep at the hands of Santa Clara on Thursday before sweeping past San Francisco on Saturday ... senior Rachelle Suaava posted 26 kills on 49 swings with just eight errors (.367) for the week ... the native of Waipahu, Hawaii also managed 10 total blocks ... SENIOR CELEBRATION The LMU women’s volleyball team will celebrate its senior class prior to its final home match of the year on 11/21 vs. Pepperdine ... the Lions have five seniors on the roster this year, including Rachelle Suaava, Avery Bush, Hannah Tedrow, Amber Mirabello and Christine Kerrigan-Okamoto. WELLS FARGO PCH CUP Separated by 19.1 miles of scenic coastline, longtime cross-town adversaries Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine came together in an effort to boost their decades-long rivalry with the creation of the Wells Fargo Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) Cup ... the series, which is in its seventh 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 headto-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 currently leads the 2015-16 standings, 2.5-0 ... LMU won the challenge for the first time last year ... to learn more about the PCH Cup and view the current scorecard, please visit: http://tinyurl.com/6n4l82s
2015 WCC STANDINGS
WCC OVERALL SCHOOL W L PCT W L PCT #12 BYU 13 2 .867 23 3 .885 Santa Clara 12 3 .800 21 6 .778 San Diego 12 3 .800 19 8 .704 LMU 11 5 .688 20 8 .714 Pepperdine 8 8 .500 17 12 .586 Pacific 6 9 .400 15 11 .577 Portland 5 10 .333 15 12 .556 Gonzaga 5 10 .333 14 14 .500 San Francisco 3 12 .200 16 12 .571 Saint Mary’s 1 14 .067 6 19 .240
Lumberjack Classic (Northern Arizona) 9/4 Fri. vs. Liberty 9/5 Sat. vs. Houston Baptist 9/5 Sat. at Northern Arizona
W, 3-0 W, 3-2 L, 3-2
LBSU/LMU Mizuno Invitational 9/10 Thu. Long Beach State 9/11 Fri. Central Arkansas 9/12 Sat. Oakland 9/12 Sat. Stony Brook
L, 3-2 W, 3-0 W, 3-0 W, 3-0
Cal Poly/UCSB Invite 9/18 Fri. at UC Santa Barbara 9/19 Sat. at Cal Poly
W, 3-2 W, 3-1
9/20 9/26 9/29 10/1 10/3 10/8 10/10 10/15 10/17 10/22 10/24 10/29 10/31 11/5 11/7 11/12 11/14 11/21 11/24
Sun. Sat. Tue. Thu. Sat. Thu. Sat. Thu. Sat. Thu. Sat. Thu. Sat. Thu. Sat. Thu. Sat. Sat. Tue.
San Diego State at Pepperdine * at #15 BYU * Pacific * vs. Saint Mary’s * at Gonzaga * at Portland * San Francisco * Santa Clara * San Diego * DiG PiNK #12 BYU * at Saint Mary’s * at Pacific * Portland * Gonzaga * at Santa Clara * at San Francisco * Pepperdine * at San Diego *
WCC PRESEASON POLL
NO. SCHOOL (1ST-PLACE VOTES) 1 BYU (7) 2 Santa Clara (3) 3 San Diego 4 Gonzaga 5 LMU 6 Pacific 7 Pepperdine 8t Saint Mary’s 8t San Francisco 10 Portland
W, 3-0 L, 3-2 L, 3-1 L, 3-1 W, 3-0 W, 3-2 W, 3-0 W, 3-0 W, 3-2 L, 3-0 W, 3-2 W, 3-2 W, 3-0 W, 3-0 W, 3-2 L, 3-0 W, 3-0 12:00 PM 6:00 PM
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2015 SCHEDULE
OVERALL: 20-8 | WCC: 11-5 | H: 9-4 | A: 8-4 | N: 3-0 Date Day Opponent Time/Result 8/28 Fri. Virginia L, 3-1 8/30 Sun. at #20 UCLA W, 3-0
AHEAD IN THE WCC
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19 Santa Clara at BYU Portland at Pacific Gonzaga at Saint Mary’s San Francisco at San Diego
6:00 pm 7:00 pm 7:00 pm 7:00 pm
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21 Santa Clara at San Diego Pepperdine at LMU Gonzaga at Pacific Portland at Saint Mary’s Gonzaga at Portland
12:00 pm 12:00 pm 12:00 pm 1:00 pm 5:00 pm