COLUMBIA, S.C. — The seventh-seeded LSU volleyball team will take on second-seeded Arkansas in the first round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament on Friday at 7 p.m. CST in the Volleyball Competition Facility.
The Tigers (11-18, 6-10 SEC) finished the regular season in third place in the SEC Western Division and in a three-way tie with South Carolina and Kentucky for sixth overall. LSU earned the seventh seed based on head-to-head competition among the three tied schools.
“This is what you work for all season,” said LSU head coach Fran Flory. “The SEC Tournament is a great event. We’ve had some upsets this year and we’ve seen some great matches. I just hope that people recognize how great an event this tournament is going to be.”
With its third consecutive Western Division title and ninth division championship in the last 10 years, the Lady’Backs (22-5, 15-1 SEC) qualified as the second seed behind overall champion Florida.
“Florida has the track record and experience but they’ve struggled this year with some adversity that they haven’t really faced before, losing some key players to injury,” Flory said. “The athleticism in seeds two through eight has increased greatly and I won’t be surprised if some upsets take place this weekend. Some teams are going to come out and surprise people this weekend.”
The Tigers are 0-2 against Arkansas this season, falling 3-1 in Baton Rouge and 3-0 in Fayetteville, in matches that were much closer than the game results. LSU was led by junior Regan Hood who averaged 5.57 kills per game in the two matches, including a career high 27 kills in the first match. In addition, she averaged 2.14 digs per game with five blocks.
Sophomore Megan Heinz led the team with 2.00 blocks per game in the two matches. In the first match, she recorded a career-best 10 blocks, including four block solos. Along with 16 kills, it was her first collegiate double-double.
In the second match, freshmen Lauren Leaumont and Kassi Mikulik each recorded double-doubles. The pair combined for 21 kills and 32 digs.
This is the first meeting between LSU and Arkansas in the SEC Tournament. LSU holds a 27-24 overall record in 24 tournament appearances, tying Tennessee for the most tournament appearances. The Tigers won SEC Tournament championships in 1986, 1989, 1990 and 1991, while finishing as the tournament runners-up in 1982, 1985, 1992 and 2000.
Arkansas is 15-8 in nine tournament appearances since joining the league in 1994. The Lady’Backs won their lone tournament title in 1997, and have finished as the runners-up on six occasions, including the last two years.
If LSU defeats Arkansas on Friday, it will advance to the tournament semifinals on Saturday to take on the winner of the Alabama-South Carolina match. The Tigers would play on Saturday at 4 p.m. CST. That winner would then advance to the tournament championship game on Sunday at noon CST to play for the league’s automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.