BATON ROUGE — The LSU volleyball team returns home after four consecutive road matches to host the Southeastern Conference Western Division leader, Alabama, on Friday at 7 p.m. at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
The Crimson Tide, which has won three straight, is 19-6 overall, including 8-3 in the SEC while the Tigers are 11-11 overall and 5-6 in conference action. The two teams have already met this season with Alabama taking a tough four-game victory.
“This is going to be a big challenge for us,” said LSU coach Fran Flory. “Last time we played them, we had chances to win the match but were unable to capitalize on them. They have put themselves in a position as the team to beat in the SEC West, so we will have to play at a high level to get a win.”
LSU will be led offensively by middle blocker Meagan Davis, who has been on a tear in her past two matches. Against Ole Miss last Friday, she notched a team-high 15 kills while hitting .500 in the match. Facing Mississippi State she recorded 10 kills and no errors en route to a .417 attack percentage for the match. She also picked up nine blocks in the two matches.
Michele Green leads Alabama into the match as the SEC leader in kills, averaging 4.57/game. She will have to contend with middle blocker Lauren Cuyler and outside hitter Jennifer Hampton to be as productive against the Tigers. Cuyler, who moved to middle blocker at the beginning of the SEC season, ranks second in the league in blocks in conference matches with a 1.53 blocks/game average.
Hampton continues to have a strangle-hold on the league lead in digs with a 3.83 digs/game average. The closest person behind her, Anna Velikanova of Arkansas, has just a 3.37 average.