SEASON OUTLOOK
OPPONENTS
HISTORY
2007 REVIEW
UNIVERSITY
2008 LIONS
OUTLOOK
MEDIA
HOME OF THE LIONS: GERSTEN PAVILION
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One of Southern California’s premier athletic facilities, Albert Gersten Pavilion begins its 27th year as home of the Loyola Marymount Lions. Since opening night, the Pavilion has become one of toughest places to play in the West Coast Conference. The 63,000-square foot facility boasts a functional design, featuring rounded columns at each corner, separated by mirrored glass. It houses the athletic programs’ extensive weight rooms, state-of-the-art training and medical facilities and is the home site of all indoor athletic events including women’s volleyball and men’s and women’s basketball games. The volleyball Lions first moved into the facility in 1982 and recorded 14 wins in Gersten’s inaugural season. Under Head Coach Steve Stratos, the Lions have posted an overall record of 176-62 (.739) in the friendly confines of the Pavilion. In conference play, the record reflects the same success with a 94-33 (.740) home record in WCC action. In 26 years, the 1996 (WCC volleyball championship team) and 2003 (NCAA secondround appearance) squads have been the most successful with 14-1 marks, for .933 winning percentages. One of the largest regular season crowds in program history gathered just four seasons ago in 2004 to see LMU top local rival Pepperdine 3-1 in West Coast Conference action. With 1,142 fans in attendance, it was the largest Gersten Pavilion volleyball crowd since LMU hosted the playoffs during the 1996 Sweet Sixteen season. Built to accommodate the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, the Pavilion served as the host site for the weightlifting competition of the Games. More than 1,000
people were involved with the staging of the event which, at that time, attracted the largest number of weightlifting competitors in the history of the Olympics. More than two million people were brought into the Pavilion through television, radio, newspapers and wire services that attended the competition. Prior to the Olympics, Gersten was the site of the McDonald’s Gymnastics Classic in 1983, featuring the best male and female gymnasts from the United States and the former Soviet Union. In 1991, the Pavilion was the venue for the men’s and women’s volleyball and boxing preliminaries at the U.S. Olympic Festival. It has been host to
top basketball camps in the country, hosting LMU alumnus Pete Newell and his Big Man’s Camp for NBA players. It has served as one of the official practice homes of the L.A. Lakers and L.A. Clippers, and continues to welcome visiting NBA franchises. The Pavilion also hosted Kiki Vandeweghe’s Individual Instruction Camp with some of the best in the NBA participating. Gersten Pavilion was named in honor of Albert Gersten, father of LMU regent Albert Gersten, Jr., a 1974 LMU graduate. The Gersten family was the largest single donor to the construction project.
Stratos’ Teams in Gersten Pavilion Year 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Totals
THE HEART OF A LION
W 8 6 10 8 10 12 14 8 10 9 8 7 11 14 12 8 12 9 176
Overall L 5 3 5 3 3 2 1 3 1 5 2 7 4 1 4 4 5 4 62
Pct. .615 .667 .667 .727 .769 .857 .933 .727 .909 .643 .800 .500 .733 .933 .750 .667 .706 .692 .739
W 6 5 6 6 7 7 7 5 6 4 5 3 4 6 5 4 3 5 94
Conference L Pct. 2 .750 2 .714 1 .857 1 .857 0 1.000 0 1.000 0 1.000 2 .714 1 .857 3 .571 2 .714 4 .429 3 .571 1 .857 2 .714 3 .571 4 .426 2 .714 33 .740
2008 LMU VOLLEYBALL