BATON ROUGE — The LSU volleyball team travels to Manhattan, Kan., for the Wildcat Classic to take on No. 12 Kansas State, Colorado State, which is receiving votes in the national polls, and 2002 Conference USA champion South Florida on Friday and Saturday at Ahearn Field House.
The Tigers (3-3) take on Colorado State on Friday at 5 p.m., followed by Kansas State against South Florida at 7 p.m. On Saturday, LSU begins play at 11 a.m. against Kansas State before Colorado State battles South Florida at 1 p.m. The Tigers conclude tournament play at 5 p.m. against South Florida as the tournament ends with Kansas State against Colorado State at 7 p.m.
“This is a really great weekend to play a high level of competition,” said LSU head coach Fran Flory. “These teams traditionally play high quality volleyball, with Kansas State probably being the top team in this group. Both Colorado State and South Florida have young teams but good teams. This is a good opportunity to play teams from conferences that traditionally send several programs to the NCAA Tournament every year and we think we have a good chance to knock one of them off.”
The Tigers finished third in the Sugar Bowl Classic last weekend in New Orleans, sweeping New Orleans after falling to No. 5 Nebraska and Tulane. Freshman setter Daniela Romero was named to the all-tournament team for LSU.
Romero earned the all-tournament honor after averaging 11.40 assists per game and a team-best 4.30 digs per game, posting double-doubles in all three of the Tigers’ matches. The Arlington, Texas, native also recorded 15 kills and three blocks. With 19 digs against No. 5 Nebraska, she tied Rachel Pittman for the team’s best individual performance of the season.
Kansas State enters the match ranked 12th nationally in the USA Today/AVCA Coaches poll and 16th in the Volleyball Magazine poll. The Wildcats sport a 7-2 record with losses to No. 2 Hawai’i and No. 3 Florida.
Colorado State is receiving votes in both the national polls and enters the tournament with a 5-2 record. Both of the Rams’ losses are to ranked opponents, falling to No. 4 Stanford and No. 22 California.
South Florida sports a 4-3 season record and is the defending Conference USA Champion. The Bulls advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season before losing out to Florida and have posted a 3-2 win over Georgia out of the Southeastern Conference this season.
This is the second meeting for the Tigers against Kansas State. LSU defeated the Wildcats in their only previous meeting in Baton Rouge. The Tigers are 0-5 all-time against Colorado State, including an 0-3 record at neutral sites. This will be the first meeting between LSU and South Florida.
After the Wildcat Classic, the Tigers travel to Denton, Texas, for the Mean Green Classic next weekend. There, LSU will take on tournament host North Texas, Oral Roberts and UTEP.