BATON ROUGE — Due to Hurricane Frances’ impending landfall in central Florida, the LSU volleyball team will no longer travel to Orlando, Fla., for the UCF Fall Classic, and will instead host a tournament this weekend with teams affected by the hurricane.
The UCF Fall Classic was cancelled on Thursday and Central Florida was invited to travel to Baton Rouge to take on the Tigers. Rice, which was prepared to open its season in the University of Miami Hurricane Invitational, has also accepted an invitation to participate after the Miami tournament was cancelled.
“Sometimes teams gain opportunities out of adverse situations,” said LSU head coach Fran Flory. “This is a golden opportunity for us to have the ability to host. It is wonderful to have an administration that is supportive of us and allows us to be in the position to start the season at home.”
The Tigers will face Central Florida and Rice on Friday and Sunday. LSU will open its season against the Golden Knights at 11 a.m. before UCF faces Rice at 3:30 p.m. The tournament will conclude on Sunday. The matchups and times have yet to be determined.
“I think we are very prepared for the season and very prepared for this weekend,” Flory said. “We are not concerned about the outside forces that were beyond our control. We are just anxious to play someone in a different color jersey on the other side of the net. I think we have a very solid program this season and we are ready to prove that with our play on the court.”
There will be no admission to the tournament. Fans who are out tailgating for the football team’s home opener on Saturday against Oregon State are invited to attend.
“We are just going to open the doors and encourage our fans to come out,” said LSU Senior Women’s Administrator Judy Southard. “We wanted to make the best out of a bad situation for several teams and get the season started in the best possible way.”
LSU is 21-6 in 27 season openers. The Tigers have won seven of their last eight season openers. The only loss was a 3-1 defeat by Santa Clara in the Colorado PowerBar Invitational in 2000. LSU opens play this season against UCF. The Tigers are 1-0 all-time against UCF on Sept. 3, although not in a season opener.
The Tigers are 4-6 all-time against UCF, including a 1-1 record at home. LSU is 12-1 all-time against Rice, including a perfect 6-0 record at home.
Next weekend, the Tigers will travel to Austin, Texas, for the Texas Invitational. LSU will take on the Longhorns, Liberty University and Louisiana Tech in the two-day tournament.
Friday, Sept. 3
11 a.m. LSU vs. Central Florida
3:30 p.m. Central Florida vs. Rice
8 p.m. LSU vs. Rice
Sunday, Sept. 5
TBA