BATON ROUGE — LSU puts its seven-match home winning streak on the line on Wednesday when it faces ninth-ranked Florida at 7 p.m. at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
The Tigers are undefeated at home this season, including a 4-0 home mark in Southeastern Conference play. LSU?s last loss at the PMAC came to Arkansas on Nov. 12, 2000.
?We have been able to turn the PMAC into a true home-court advantage this season,? said LSU coach Fran Flory. ?I think our players have become more comfortable playing at home and have reached the point where they expect to win on their own floor.?
Florida brings a streak of its own in to the Assembly Center on Wednesday. A 93-match SEC winning streak to be exact. The Gators last loss in regular-season conference play came to South Carolina in the final match of the 1994 season.
Coming with the 10-time defending SEC Champions to Baton Rouge will be one of the top players in the nation, Aury Cruz. Cruz, only a sophomore, leads the conference in kills, digs and aces while ranking in the top 10 in hitting percentage.
The Gators also boast the reigning SEC Player of the Year, Nicole McCray, and the league?s most efficient hitter, Benavia Jenkins. McCray and Jenkins form the most prolific middle blocking duo in the conference.
?Florida is the benchmark in the SEC and they have been for a while,? Flory said of the Gators. ?They are the measuring stick everyone in the league used every year for they want to be. They have talent all over the court and have been virtually impossible to stop offensively this season.?
LSU will look to counter the powerful Gators with efficiency in the middle and explosiveness from the outside. Middle blockers Meagan Davis and Lauren Cuyler are among the SEC elite in hitting percentage and blocks as both are hitting over .360 and averaging more than 1.20 blocks/game.
Jennifer Hampton, Kyra Lancon and Meghan Bedford each average more than three kills per game while collectively hitting .200 from the outside. Hampton is one of just three players to rank in the top 10 in the SEC in kills and digs.
?I think for us to be successful against Florida, everyone will have to step up and play their best,? Flory noted. ?We will need to control the ball well so we can set Meagan and Lauren as much as possible, because they are our most efficient hitters.?
LSU and Florida have met 30 times since 1984 with the Gators holding an 18-12 advantage in the series. Despite the closeness in record, the series has been all Florida since 1992 as the Gators have reeled off 14 consecutive victories over the Tigers. LSU dropped both meetings a year ago, including a 3-0 loss in the SEC Tournament Championship match.