KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The 2001 Southeastern Conference Volleyball Tournament officially got underway on Thursday night when the eight teams in the event attended the Tournament Banquet at Knoxville, Tenn.
The tournament begins on Friday at 11 a.m. when top-seeded Florida takes on Georgia in the first round. The winner of that match will take on the winner of LSU’s first-round match with Alabama, which is slated for 3:30 p.m. CST.
The Tigers, seeded fourth, will be facing the Crimson Tide exactly one week after beating them in Tuscaloosa, 3-0. LSU earned a season sweep over Alabama, which upset SEC Western Division champion Arkansas in its regular-season finale.
The win over Alabama helped LSU jump three spots in the NCAA Regional rankings, which were released on Thursday. The Tigers are now third in the South Region behind Florida and South Carolina.
LSU and Alabama also met in the first round of the SEC Tournament last season, a 3-0 Tiger victory. The Tigers went on to reach the tournament final.
“Alabama always presents a tough match for us,” said LSU coach Fran Flory. “It has become a very competitive and intense rivalry within our division over the past few years. Each team knows the other one extremely well, so it will come down who can executing the best.”
Highlighting the banquet was the naming of the All-SEC teams, on which LSU had three members. Senior Meagan Davis, who was named to the first-team, became a just the fifth three-time honoree in school annals and first since Dani Reis in 1992.
Davis, an LSU co-captain, was tops on the team in hitting percentage while ranking in second in blocks. Her .388 hitting percentage is on pace to be the second highest in Tiger history. This is the second time she has been named to first-team as she did so in 1999 as well. Last year she was a second-team honoree.
“This is a great way for Meagan to go out,” Flory said of the second most efficient hitter to ever play at LSU. “She has been the heart and sole of this team for four years and is deserving of this recognition.”
Juniors Lauren Cuyler, LSU’s other co-captain, and Jennifer Hampton were each named to the second-team for their first all-conference awards. Cuyler was a dominant force in the middle for LSU this year, hitting .383 and registering 1.40 blocks per game.
Hampton is one of just four players in the conference to rank in the top 10 in the league in both kill and digs. Her 3.23 kills and 3.27 digs per game each led the squad.
“I am thrilled for Cuyler and Hampton. They have worked extremely hard to get to this point,” Flory said. “Cuyler has overcome a lot in terms of playing through shoulder pain every time on the floor.
“Hampton has been as consistent a player as we have had all season. She goes out on the court every night and gets close to 10 kills and 10 digs and every team needs a player like that.”
The tournament runs through Sunday with the championship scheduled for 1 p.m. It will be televised by SEC-TV and can be seen on Fox Sports South and Fox Sports Southwest.
SEC Awards
Coach of the Year: Mary Wise, Florida
Player of the Year: Aury Cruz, Florida
Freshman of the Year: Jennifer Haaser, Arkansas
First-Team School
Eftila Tenellari Arkansas
Libby Windell Arkansas
Benavia Jenkins Florida
Nicole McCray Florida
Jacque Robinson Florida
Aury Cruz Florida
Kris Bova Florida
Megan Davis LSU
Megan Hosp South Carolina
Cally Plummer South Carolina
Erica Lear Tennessee
Ariana Wilson Tennessee
Second-Team School
Erin Heffner Alabama
Jennifer Bibber Alabama
Michelle Coens Arkansas
Anna Velikanova Arkansas
Jennifer Haaser Arkansas
Niki Hartley Florida
Stacy Buerger Georgia
April Barnhorst Kentucky
Lauren Cuyler LSU
Jennifer Hampton LSU
Berna Dwyer South Carolina
Nadia Sefferovich South Carolina
Janelle Hester Tennessee