Loyola to Play in Volleyball Invitational

For only the second time, the Loyola Marymount volleyball team will compete in postseason play when the Lions open play today in the 20-team Women’s Invitational Volleyball Championships in Knoxville, Tenn.

The tournament took the best teams not chosen for NCAA playoffs. Loyola and Cal State Northridge were the only California teams selected.

In Coach Steve Stratos’ first season, the Lions (18-15) finished third in the West Coast Conference and won their last three matches, all on the road. WCC champion Pepperdine and runner-up Gonzaga gained NCAA berths, giving the conference three teams in postseason play for the first time.

In the tournament format, teams are broken into four pools, with pool winners advancing to Saturday’s semifinals. Loyola will open pool play at 11 a.m. against Dayton, then meets Memphis State, the top-seeded team in the pool, at 4 p.m. On Friday the Lions meet Arizona State at 8 a.m. and William and Mary at 1 p.m. Other top-seeded teams are Houston, Georgia and Northridge.

Semifinals are at 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. Saturday, followed by the championship at 4:30 p.m.

This is the Lions’ first postseason appearance since they went to the NCAAs in 1986.

“From the beginning we were told we were supposed to finish seventh or eighth (in the WCC) so this is a nice way to end the season,” Stratos said. “I’d hoped to be really competitive in the conference and shoot for .500 (but) they are overachievers. I’m super excited for the girls.”