BATON ROUGE — The LSU volleyball team takes a step up in strength of schedule this weekend as it travels to Atlanta, Ga., for the Georgia Tech Classic.
Awaiting the team in Atlanta over the weekend will be Georgetown, No. 12 Colorado State and Georgia Tech, which has received votes in the USA Today poll.
“We are looking at this as the most difficult weekend of our season,” said LSU coach Fran Flory. “We feel very prepared for it, we’ve started this season at a higher level than last season and we are excited to get the chance to match up with some top level teams.”
LSU opens the tournament against the Hoyas on Friday at 5 p.m. (ET). Saturday, the Tigers square off with the Rams at noon.
“Colorado State could be a Final Four team, but we played that last year in Wisconsin who ended up in the national championship match. That could be Colorado State this year and we feel much more prepared for that,” said Flory. “We feel that we can physically match up with them but we will still have to play at a very high level.”
The tournament concludes on Sunday when LSU and the host Yellow Jackets meet at 3 p.m. in a match that will be aired on a tape delay basis by Fox Sports South. The games will be broadcast on Sept. 16 at 4 p.m. and Sept. 18 at noon.
The Tigers are coming off a 2-1 performance in the Nokia Sugar Bowl Classic, that earned them second place in the tournament behind Baylor. LSU defeated New Orleans and Tulane in the tournament and lost to the Bears.
Middle blocker Meagan Davis leads the the Tigers into action. The two-time All-SEC selection averaged 3.56 kills/game while hitting .517 last weekend. She also recorded 1.11 blocks/game. Davis had just one hitting error in 60 attempts in the Sugar Bowl.
“We need to get the ball to Meagan more. The outcome of the Baylor match last weekend wasn’t our offensive efficiency, it was our ball control and passing. That will be the determining factor this weekend,” Flory noted. “If we can ball control and get the ball to Meagan then not really many people will be able to stop her.”
Lauren Cuyler, also a middle blocker will be a force at the net as she notched a team-high 1.38 blocks/game last weekend to go along with her 2.62 kills/game and .385 hitting percentage.
Jennifer Hampton should provide a threat from the outside hitter position as she is tied for the team lead with a 3.56 kills/game average. She also notched 2.67 digs/game last weekend en route to All-Tournament Team honors.