No. 16 BYU hosts Loyola Marymount to open WCC play

PROVO, Utah — Coming off of a pair of in-state wins, No. 16 BYU women’s volleyball continues its home-stand, opening up its final season of West Coast Conference (WCC) play with Loyola Marymount.

Despite two wins last week, the Cougars dropped a spot in this week’s American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) poll. BYU has been ranked in the top-17 for 131-straight polls. Two other WCC teams are also ranked: San Diego at No. 4 and Pepperdine at No. 17. 

No. 16 BYU vs. Loyola Marymount

• Thursday, September 22 (7 p.m. MDT)
• Smith Fieldhouse (Provo, UT)
• BYUtv/BYUtv app
• Live Stats
• Tickets

Following last weekend’s sweep of Utah Valley, the Cougars are 6-1 at home this season. Head coach Heather Olmstead is 12-2 against Loyola Marymount, including 8-0 in Provo.

Junior outside hitter Erin Livingston continues to lead the team with 138 kills. Livingston is averaging 4.06 kills a set, good for No. 38 in the country.

Dishing out 10 assists per set, senior setter Whitney Bower has tallied 340 assists. Her average puts her at No. 56 in the nation. 

Recording 37 total blocks each are senior middle blockers Heather Gneiting and Whitney Llarenas. The pair have also combined for 161 kills.

Loyola Marymount (5-4, 0-0 WCC)

• The Lions split a home-and-home with Long Beach State last weekend, winning in four sets at home, but dropping a five-setter in Long Beach
• LMU swept No. 22 UCLA, but has been swept to No. 2 Nebraska, No. 22 Utah and No. 23 Kansas
• A common opponent between the Cougars and Lions is Utah Valley. Both teams swept the Wolverines in their respective matchups. 
• Kari Geissberger leads LMU with 91 kills. Four other Lions have 60+ kills on the year: Rose Booth (77), Audrey Klemp (70), Phoebe Awoleye (66) and Jacquelyn Moore (64). 
• Setter Isabella Bareford has tallied 324 assists, libero Sam Hastings leads the team with 80 digs and middle blocker Awoleye has posted 41 blocks
• Sixth-year head coach Aaron Mansfield has posted an 80-62 record at LMU
• BYU leads the all-time series with the Lions, 22-2. The Cougars won both matchups last season in four sets.

The Cougars will welcome No. 17 Pepperdine to the Smith Fieldhouse following their match with Loyola Marymount. Scheduled for 1 p.m. MDT on Saturday, Sept. 24, the match will be televised on BYUtv and streamed on BYUtv app.