LMU Volleyball: Lions sweep in NoCal, play WCC leaders this week

Loyola Marymount University women’s volleyball squad survived a late challenge Oct. 19 to defeat Pacific three sets to two and come home from its Northern California trip with a West Coast Conference sweep.

LMU’s win followed a 3-2 win over St. Mary’s, and made the Lions’ record 12-8 overall, 6-2 in WCC play as they prepare for two key conference matches at Gersten Pavilion this week. The results:

Oct. 17 at St. Mary’s: The Lions rallied from a 2-1 sets deficit, dominating the final two sets to pull out a 24-26, 25-19, 23-25, 25-9, 15-12 triumph. Megan Rice continued her strong play with 24 kills (plus six blocks) and Savannah Slattery added 19, while Tess Reid approached her season-high with 54 assists, Bo Culo had 13 digs and Jessie Prichard smacked five service aces.

Oct. 19 at Pacific: The Lions’ 25-17, 25-23, 17-25, 25-27, 15-12 victory over the Tigers was a battle to the end, after LMU led 2-0. Slattery and Rice each had 14 kills and freshman Piper Manross a career-high 13, Culo had 22 digs and Reid had 46 assists (100 for the weekend). 

This week: The Lions are back in Gersten Pavilion to face the WCC’s top teams, second-place BYU on Oct. 24 (7 p.m.) and first-placeSan Diego on Oct. 26 (noon). 

BYU (which beat the Lions 3-2 on Oct. 1 at Provo) is 16-3 overall, 7-1 in WCC, and was beaten last Friday at home by San Diego, 15-4 overall and 8-0 in conference. The Toreros, who will host LMU in the Nov. 26 regular season finale, have won 13 straight and feature former Marymount HS star Grace Frohling, a 6-foot-5 freshman who helped the lead win over BYU.