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 (21-8, 12-5 WCC) | SAN DIEGO (21-8, 14-3 WCC) November 24, 2015 | San Diego, Calif. | Match 30 | Away 13
QUICK HITS ◊ LMU snapped a three-match losing streak with a victory over Saint Mary’s on 10/3 ... has now won 12 of its last 14 matches ... owns an RPI of 29 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 ... 12 WCC wins are the most since 1996 (14-0) ... is ranked 19th in the nation (2nd in WCC) in assists/per set (13.38) and 46th in the nation (1st in WCC) in kills (1,577) ... 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 22 of 29 first sets this year (16-6 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 295-154 (.657) 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 105. ◊ 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 3.63 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 .272 while leading the team in kills with 403 ... was named a preseason All-WCC selection ... is averaging a team-best 3.63 kills per set (8th in WCC). ◊ RACHELLE SUAAVA was named Lumberjack Classic All-Tournament ... is hitting .274 (330-134/715) with a team-best 133 block assists and 9 block solos (1.20 per set) ... ranks 2nd in WCC in total blocks (133) and 5th 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 12 of its last 14 matches overall, LMU will conclude West Coast Conference play and the regular season on the road this week, traveling to San Diego on Tuesday at 6 pm ... live stats and video links for Tuesday’s match can be found at LMULions.com. SEEKING A TOURNAMENT BERTH With one match left to be played in the regular season, 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-roungd 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 (2012 and 2014). LION TRACKS The LMU volleyball team sent the seniors out of Gersten Pavilion in a big way on Saturday, sweeping rival Pepperdine ... prior to the match, LMU volleyball recognized its five senior players, Rachelle Suaava, Hannah Tedrow, Amber Mirabello, Avery Bush and Christine Kerrigan-Okamoto ... sophomore Sarah Sponcil led the way for LMU, collecting a double-double of 13 kills with 11 digs to accompany a pair of service aces ... Sponcil, a native of Phoenix, Ariz. hit .400 for the match, making just one error on 30 swings ... playing in her final match at Gersten Pavilion, Suaava managed seven kills, an ace, a block solo and three block assists ... likewise, Tedrow had 35 assists in her final home match of an illustrious career that will leave her in the top-three in LMU history for assists ... Mirabello totaled six kills on 11 errorless attacks to finish the day hitting .545 ... Bush had seven digs and one assist, while Kerrigan-Okamoto took to the floor for the second time in her career as LMU secured the sweep. WINS FOR THE AGES LMU has managed a few streak-stopping victories over the last two years, most notably defeating BYU, UCLA, San Diego and Long Beach State ... the Lions’ latest accomplishment was a five-set victory over then-No. 12 BYU on 10/24 this year, marking the first win over the Cougars in program history (1-11) ... prior to LMU’s sweep of UCLA on 8/30/14, the Bruins had won seven straight matches over the Lions ... the all-time series now stands at 10-3 in favor of UCLA, as the Lions swept the Bruins for the second straight year on 8/30 in match two of the season ... this year’s victory came on the road, and was the first on the road for LMU at UCLA since December 4, 1986 (3-2) while playing in the NCAA Tournament ... eight of the 10 UCLA victories in the series have been sweeps ... the Lions then recorded a victory over Long Beach State on 9/11/14, snapping a seven-match skid for the Lions against the 49ers ... the last Lion victory over LBSU came on 9/10/94 ... the road victory for LMU was also the first over Long Beach State since 11/17/87 ... perhaps the biggest win of last year, LMU swept then-No. 23 San Diego on 9/30/14 ... that victory snapped a 16-match losing streak to the Toreros (last victory: 10/28/05) ... LMU was just 6-26 over the previous 32 matches against USD ... the sweep of USD was also the first for the Lions since 11/18/95.
2015 WCC STANDINGS
WCC OVERALL SCHOOL W L PCT W L PCT #11 BYU 15 2 .882 25 3 .893 San Diego 14 3 .824 21 8 .724 LMU 12 5 .706 21 8 .724 Santa Clara 12 5 .706 21 8 .724 Pacific 8 9 .471 17 11 .607 Pepperdine 8 9 .471 17 13 .567 Portland 6 11 .353 16 13 .552 Gonzaga 6 11 .353 15 15 .500 San Francisco 3 14 .176 16 14 .533 Saint Mary’s 1 16 .059 6 21 .222
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 W, 3-0 6:00 PM
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2015 SCHEDULE
OVERALL: 21-8 | WCC: 12-5 | H: 10-4 | 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
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 24 Santa Clara at San Diego Pepperdine at LMU Gonzaga at Pacific Portland at Saint Mary’s Gonzaga at Portland
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 29 NCAA Tournament Selection Show
12:00 pm 12:00 pm 12:00 pm 1:00 pm 5:00 pm 6:00 pm | ESPNU