This week
The No. 24 Point Loma volleyball team will open Pacific West Conference play by hosting Dixie State on Saturday, Sept. 19 at 1:30 p.m. The teams finished second and third in the PacWest standings last season and both are expected to compete for the title once again.

Follow along
The PacWest opener, along with all PLNU home volleyball matches, will be available for fans to follow on both live stats and live video. Live stats will be free of charge while the matches will be $8.95 on a pay-per-view basis. To access both live stats and live video visit plnusealions.com/gameday.
 
A look at the Sea Lions
The Sea Lions enter the match ranked No. 24 in the AVCA national poll. PLNU has put together a 5-3 record in non-conference play, including sweeping four opponents to open the season at the Seaside Invitational. PLNU has earned wins against No. 10 Colorado Mesa, UC San Diego and defending GNAC champion Northwest Nazarene.
 
Senior outside hitter Heather Leavitt, the MVP of the Seaside Invitational, leads the PacWest conference with 4.60 kills per set. Senior setter Savannah Wedemeyer is second in the league with 10.83 assists per set. Bree Vieth is seventh in aces (0.5) and Wedemeyer is eighth (0.43).  As a team, PLNU leads the PacWest with 14.19 assists and 15.0 kills per set. The Sea Lions also rank second in digs (18.96).
 
A look at the Red Storm
Dixie State is 3-5 this season and is coming off a 1-3 during play in the GNAC/PacWest Crossover Challenge. The Red Storm rank fourth in the league with a .241 hitting percentage and 2.20 blocks per set. Dixie State is also holding opponents to a .202 hitting percentage and posting 10.96 assists per set. Makenzi Bird-Murphey leads the team and ranks ninth in the league with a .296 hitting percentage. Delayne Daniel leads the team with 3.15 kills per set. Kailey Frei is sixth in the PacWest with 9.22 assists per set and Lindsay Jones is fourth in blocks (1.19).
 
Words from the Sea Lions
Jonathan Scott on the team/practice: "We're fortunate enough to only have the one match this week so we get to focus on ourselves for a little bit longer than we normally would. Later in the week we'll change gears and give them into the finer details."
 
Kelli LeClair on the home opener: "It'll be fun, to play in front of the Green Sea and the rest of the fans. It's always so fun to have all that energy in the gym."
 
Heather Leavitt on Dixie State: "I think any team we play we need to beat. We just have to go out and play our game. We haven't really looked at them yet this year. In the past they get really excited and really seem to ride that momentum."
 
Sea Lions remain in the rankings
Despite stumbling at the GNAC/PacWest Crossover Challenge, PLNU dropped just four spots in the AVCA poll and now stand 24th. The Sea Lions reached their highest ranking, No. 20, last week before going 1-3 in Washington. PLNU came in at No. 24 on the latest poll to mark the first time in history PLNU has been ranked in the top 25 of the AVCA poll in consecutive weeks.
 
Next week
The schedule does not get any easier for PLNU next week as it goes on the road to face Concordia (CA) and PacWest preseason favorite California Baptist on Thursday and Saturday, respectively.