Following a narrow loss to one of the country’s top teams, the Loyola Marymount University women’s volleyball squad bounced back to win a pair of home matches in straight sets.
The Lions fell in five sets to No. 9 BYU at Provo, but downed Gonzaga and Portland at Gersten Pavilion, running their West Coast Conference record to 4-1 and overall mark to 10-7. The results:
Oct. 1 at BYU: After dropping the first two sets 25-22 and 25-20, LMU rallied to win the next two 25-21 and 25-22 before losing the finale 15-7 on the Cougars’ floor. Rose Booth had 18 kills, Jessie Prichard 55 assists and 11 digs, and Bo Culo had 12 digs for LMU.
Oct. 3 vs. Gonzaga: In dominating the Zags 25-28, 25-17, 25-19, LMU used a 9-2 run to put away set two, and took match point on a kill from Savannah Slattery. Megan Rice had 17 kills and Slattery 14, Prichard had 23 assists and Tess Reid 15, and Culo had 16 digs.
Oct. 5 vs. Portland: Rice’s kill for the first point of the match (one of 19 on the afternoon) set the tone in the Lions’ 25-21, 25-20, 25-21 sweep, the fourth at home for LMU. Prichard had 36 assists, Culo eight digs and Emmelyn Walter four blocks.
This week: LMU hosts Pepperdine in a WCC match Oct. 9, 7 p.m. at Gersten Pavilion, with both teams tied for second in the conference behind BYU. The Lions then travel to Northern California for WCC matches at St. Mary’s (Oct. 17) and Pacific (Oct. 19).
