Three straight road losses to close the season left the Loyola Marymount University women’s volleyball team season with a 15-15 overall record and 9-9 in the West Coast Conference.
The Lions placed fifth in the WCC, behind champion San Diego (17-1), BYU (16-2), Pepperdine (14-4), and Santa Clara (10-8). A look at the year-end matches:
Nov. 14 vs. Pacific: The Lions swept the Tigers 25-21, 26-16, 28-26 at Gersten Pavilion. Savannah Slattery had 16 kills and 10 digs, Alexis Morrow seven blocks, Tess Reid 20 assists, Jessie Prichard 17 assists and nine digs, and Ella Boehle 16 digs.
Nov. 16 vs. St. Mary’s: After dropping the first set 25-21 at Gersten Pavilion, LMU rallied to win the next three over the Gaels, 25-20, 26-24, 25-23. Slattery again led the way with 17 kills and 18 digs, while Prichard had 25 assists and nine digs, Reid 22 assists, and Bo Culo 25 digs.
Nov. 21 at San Francisco: Playing the ninth-place team in the WCC, the Lions uncharacteristically struggled against the Dons, losing 25-18, 21-25, 25-22, 25-19. Slattery had 17 kills, four blocks and 15 digs; Reid, 24 assists and 16 digs; Prichard, 20 assists; and Boehle, 22 digs.
Nov. 23 at Santa Clara: LMU again split the first two sets and dropped the last two in its 25-18, 24-26, 25-23, 25-22 loss to the Broncos. Sierra Bartley led LMU with 16 kills, Slattery had 13 and Emmelyn Walters 10. Reid had 41 assists and 13 digs, and Culo had 15 digs.
Nov. 26 at San Diego: A first-set victory wasn’t enough for LMU against the 20th-ranked Toreros, who clinched the WCC title at 17-1 with a 21-25, 25-15, 25-18, 25-20 victory. Former Marymount HS star Grace Frohling had 12 kills for San Diego, while Slattery had 18 plus 10 digs for LMU. Reid had 20 assists and three service aces; Morrow, five blocks; Prichard, 19 assists; Boehle, 12 digs; and Culo, 10 digs.
LMU’s five seniors — Slattery, Reid, Culo, Morrow and Emma Johnson — were honored during the Lions’ final homestand on Senior Night. Slattery and Culo are expected to continue their LMU athletic careers in the spring as part of the Lions’ beach volleyball squad that also includes indoor volleyballers Megan Rice, Prichard and Boehle.