BATON ROUGE — After a disappointing five-game loss to upstart Florida A&M in its home opener last weekend, the LSU volleyball team looks to rebound this weekend as it travels to the Florida State Invitational in Tallahassee, Fla.
The Tigers (5-2) will face Brown University (1-2) on Friday at 9:30 a.m. ET before squaring off with tournament host Florida State (3-2) at 7 p.m. ET. LSU will conclude the tournament with a match against in-state rival Louisiana-Lafayette (5-5) on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. ET.
“I was very disappointed after our loss to a very good Florida A&M team last weekend,” said LSU head coach Fran Flory. “They are a team that went 27-3 last season, but one that we could have and should have beaten, especially at home.
“I am optimistic heading into this weekend that our players will use that loss as a learning experience and come out ready to play and win this weekend at Florida State.”
This season, the Tigers have finished in first and second in the two tournaments they have competed. LSU went 2-1 to start the season and finish second in the Texas A&M Invitational, falling in five-games to No. 17 Texas A&M for the only loss. The Tigers then went undefeated to win the Sugar Bowl Classic in New Orleans two weeks ago.
“This weekend will be a test for us,” said Flory. “We are going up against three very good teams and we will need to be at our best to be victorious. We don’t know much about Brown, but we know that they are one of the best in the Ivy League. Florida State has started to put it together for their new head coach and this is the best ULL team I have seen since I have been at LSU. We will have to play our game at our pace to accomplish our goals this weekend.”
Brown began its season a week later than the rest of the nation and has only played three matches this year. The Bears are coming off their first victory, a 3-0 win over Colgate in the Syracuse Invitational last weekend.
Florida State is under the direction of first-year head coach Todd Kress. He replaced Cecile Reynaud, who retired after 26 years as the head coach of the Lady Seminoles. After opening the season 0-2, FSU has won four of its last five, including two straight. The only loss in that span was a five-game loss to Miami.
Louisiana-Lafayette has one of the best teams it has had in years. The Ragin’ Cajuns boast five foreign players, including a pair of six-foot players from Brazil. Like LSU, ULL gave nationally ranked Texas A&M all it could handle, falling 3-2 in College Station, Texas.
LSU leads the series with Louisiana-Lafayette 20-2, including a string of 11 straight contests. In 18 previous meetings with Florida State, FSU leads the overall series 10-8, but the Tigers lead the series 2-1 in Tallahassee. This is the first meeting between LSU and Brown.
LSU returns home to open Southeastern Conference play against Arkansas on Wednesday, Sept. 25 at 7 p.m. in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. The Tigers will then host Tennessee on Friday at 7 p.m. in a match that will be aired by FoxSports South taped delayed on Sunday.