BATON ROUGE — After sweeping past Tennessee on Friday night, the LSU volleyball team will face UNO in the New Orleans Arena as part of the ING Louisiana Showcase on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in a rematch of a 3-1 Tiger win in the Sugar Bowl Classic earlier this season.
The match is second of a doubleheader in the arena gearing up for the NCAA Women’s Volleyball Championship in December. In the first match, Tulane will take on Louisiana-Lafayette at 5 p.m..
The Tigers enter the match at 8-4 on the year, while the Privateers are 7-9. LSU split in its Southeastern Conference opening weekend, falling to Arkansas, 3-1, before defeating the Lady Vols, 3-0. UNO is coming off a 3-1 win over Denver in Sun Belt Conference play and defeated Mississippi State last week, 3-2.
“UNO is a really scrappy team,” said LSU head coach Fran Flory. “They have done a great job for Jule and have some great young talent. They played us tough in the first match and we will have to play well to beat them again.
“This is also a wonderful opportunity to play in the New Orleans Arena,” said Flory. “Tulane, Louisiana-Lafayette and UNO are all quality teams and I think this doubleheader will showcase how far volleyball has come in this state.”
In the first meeting this season, the Tigers defeated the Privateers, 30-25, 30-14, 23-30, 30-27, in their second match of the Sugar Bowl Classic. LSU also defeated Tulane and Louisiana Tech to post a 3-0 record and win the tournament.
Tiger senior Jennifer Hampton, the Sugar Bowl Classic MVP, recorded the only double-double of the match, with a game-high 20 kills on a .364 hitting percentage with a game-high 14 digs. Freshmen Cara Causey and Megan Heniz each recorded double-figures in kills with 13 and 12 respectively.
Katie Kubena led LSU with 44 assists, while Lauren Cuyler recorded a pair of solo blocks and a block assist to lead the match. She also recorded a .429 hitting percentage with nine kills.
The Tigers came out on fire to start the match, taking a commanding 20-7 lead on the Privateers. With the match seemingly in hand, 28-12, UNO mounted a remarkable comeback, scoring 13 of the next 14 points to cut the lead to 29-24. A Privateers service error ended the game with the Tigers ahead 30-25.
LSU took control of New Orleans early and did not allow the Privateers to rally in game two. After UNO got as close as 12-9, the Tigers went on an 18-5 run to close out the game easily, 30-14.
Poor hitting caused problems for the Tigers in the third game. The Privateers took the lead early, but the game remained close. After being tied at 15, UNO mounted a 10-2 run to break the game open. A late LSU rally failed as UNO went on to take game three, 30-23.
After the fourth game went back and forth for much of the start, the Tiger took a five-point advantage 18-13. New Orleans then rallied back to tie the game at 20 and used poor serving by LSU to take the lead 22-21. LSU rallied back to retake the lead and put the match away, 30-27.
The Tigers return home for an SEC weekend, facing Kentucky on Friday at 7 p.m. and South Carolina on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Friday’s match features the Reveille’s “Groovin’ to the Oldies” tailgate party. Sunday is “Carnival Time” in the Assembly Center with a Mardi Gras theme and a parade at halftime.