Loyola Marymount volleyball player Nicole Schuetz, a former Bishop Diego and Santa Barbara High standout, earned co-MVP honors with teammate Maria Tabacuks at the Ole Miss Invitational over the weekend in Oxford, Miss.

Schuetz and Tabacuks led the Lions to three wins at the season-opening event. It’s the first time the program started 3-0 since 2018.

The sophomore Schuetz had a pair of 21-kill performances in wins over Northern Arizona and host Ole Miss. She recorded an attack percentage of .563 in a sweep against Northern Arizona and hit .348 in a four-set win over Ole Miss. She also had 13 digs and scored a team-high 23 points in that match.

As a freshman, Schuetz played in all 27 matches for LMU and finished third on the team in kills (138) and led the team in total blocks (78.0, including 66 block assists).

Barry Punzal is a Noozhawk contributing writer, and was for many years Noozhawk's sports editor. He can be reached at bpunzal@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk Sports on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.