BATON ROUGE — The LSU volleyball team hosts in-state rival Tulane on Tuesday night as the Tigers take a break from the rigorous Southeastern Conference schedule.
Of the Tigers past 13 opponents, 12 have been conference foes, including six straight. LSU last saw a non-conference opponent on Oct. 17 when it beat New Orleans.
“It is good for us to get out of SEC play for a match,” said LSU coach Fran Flory. “It takes the pressure off a little bit so we can relax and just play.”
The Green Wave will present a tough challenge for Flory’s Tigers in the non-conference match as they knocked off LSU at the beginning of the season in three game.
“Any time we play Tulane it is a war,” Flory said. “They are emotional about playing us and we are emotional about playing them. Anything can happen once we step on the court.”
LSU will look to overpower the Green Wave at the net with middle blocker’s Meagan Davis and Lauren Cuyler. Davis has been on a tear in her past four matches, hitting at least .350 in each. She has led the team in kill twice in that span. She also had a team-high six blocks in the loss to Auburn on Sunday.
Cuyler has been a wall at the net for the Tigers since moving to middle blocker less than a month ago. She is averaging 1.74 blocks/game in her past 11 matches. That average which would rank her in the top 10 in the nation over the course of a season.
“We rely on our middle’s to carry the load for us both hitting and blocking,” said Flory. “Cuyler has done a great job of blocking in the past month and Meagan has been one of the best blockers in the conference in the past two years.”
LSU will return to conference action on Friday when it travels to Arkansas. The Tigers and LadyBacks will meet again on Sunday on LSU’s senior day.