BATON ROUGE — The LSU volleyball team looks to rebound from its tough four-game loss to Alabama last week when it hosts Southeastern Conference foe Kentucky on Friday at 7 p.m. at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
“There is no question that this is a big match for us,” said LSU coach Fran Flory. “The Kentucky match is a chance for us to make a statement that we are still in the fight for the SEC West (Division) title.”
Kentucky (4-10, 2-1 SEC) has lost back-to-back matches on the road against South Carolina (3-0) and North Carolina State (3-2). The Wildcats have yet to win a road match this season in three tries.
LSU (6-7, 1-2 SEC) is coming off a weekend split with a 3-2 win at Auburn, the first on the plains since 1991, and a 3-1 loss at Alabama.
“Last weekend was very big for us. You have to be able to win on the road in this conference if you want to compete for championships. Now, we need to continue to play at a high level and defend our home court,” said Flory.
The Tigers will be led into the match by outside hitter Meghan Bedford who recorded double-doubles in each of her past two matches. In the win over Auburn, she hit for a career-high 23 kills while digging a career-high 12 balls.
Along with Bedford, middle blocker Meagan Davis will be sparking the LSU attack. Davis, who leads the team in kills, ranks fifth in the conference in attack percentage at .372.
Outside hitter Jennifer Hampton will key the Tiger defense as she is currently second in the SEC in digs per game with a 3.35 average. In the Auburn win, she notched a career-high 23 digs as part of her team-high fifth double-double.
Kentucky is led offensively by 6-1 senior middle blocker Megan Weiskircher who has a .255 attack percentage including 3.46 kills per game.
After facing the Wildcats, LSU continues its weekend against Tennessee at 2 p.m. on Sunday in the Maravich Assembly Center.