GAINESVILLE, Fla. — One week after defeating Arkansas in Fayetteville, Ark., to even the season series, the LSU volleyball team will take on the Lady’Backs in the rubber match as the Tigers open Southeastern Conference Tournament action on Friday at 1 p.m. (CST) in the O’Connell Center.
Having won five of its final six SEC matches, LSU enters the tournament as the sixth seed with a 16-10 overall record and an 8-8 mark in league play. The third-seeded Lady’Backs (15-13, 10-6) tied with Alabama for the SEC Western Division title, their 10th division championship, despite having lost three of their final four conference matches.
If the Tigers defeat Arkansas, LSU will advance to take on the winner of the Tennessee/Auburn match on Saturday at 1 p.m. (CST). The winner of that match will advance to the SEC Tournament championship game on Sunday at 2 p.m. (CST). The match will be broadcast live on FSN Southwest (Baton Rouge cable channel 38).
“This should be the most competitive SEC Tournament in years,” said LSU head coach Fran Flory. “With as many ties as we had to break regarding seeding and with all the teams so close together in terms of play, it lends itself to a great competition.
“We are happy to be here and hope we continue to play at a high level and have continued success.”
This is the third meeting between the Tigers and Lady’Backs this season and 24th overall meeting between the pair. Arkansas swept LSU in the first contest this year, taking a 30-23, 30-19, 30-19, win in Baton Rouge. The Tigers returned the favor by defeating the Lady’Backs, 39-37, 28-30, 30-27, 30-17, in Fayetteville.
In the overall series, Arkansas holds a commanding 20-3 advantage. LSU’s win last weekend snapped a seven-match losing skid to the Lady’Backs, dating back to 2001. The Tigers are also 0-1 against Arkansas in SEC Tournament action after falling 0-3 in Columbia, S.C., last season.
In LSU’s first meeting with the Lady’Backs this season, the Tigers had trouble passing the ball throughout the match, which led to a breakdown in the offensive attack. LSU hit only .017 as a team, committing 33 errors to only 35 kills. Conversely, Arkansas hit .281 as a team after averaging only .179 going into the match. In addition, the Lady’Backs recorded 17.5 blocks to only six for LSU.
Junior Jelena Mijatovic led the match with 15 kills and four aces for the Tigers. The outside hitter from Belgrade, Serbia, leads LSU in kills per game on the season and ranks third in the NCAA in service aces per game.
Sophomore Kassi Mikulik led the Tigers with six digs, while junior Ivana Kuzmic led the team with five blocks. With sophomore Daniela Romero still recovering from a back injury, she split time at the setter position with senior Beth Cowley, recording 10 and 16 assists respectively.
The Lady’Backs were led by Jennifer Haaser with 10 kills and 10 blocks for the match’s only double-double. Ashley Miller led Arkansas with 13 digs and two service aces.
In their second meeting, the Tigers fought off five Lady’Back game points in the first set before converting on their fourth game point effort. After taking the marathon in game one, the Tigers dropped the second game to go to the locker room with the match tied.
LSU then came from seven down in the third game, to win and take lead. In the fourth game, the Tigers dominated Arkansas, scoring the final seven points to close out the match.
Five players recorded double-figure kills for LSU, led by Regan Hood with 16 kills. The senior also posted a career-best five service aces, seven digs and four blocks on the match.
Sophomore Melody Clark recorded 12 kills, two shy of her career best, along with three blocks. Romero recorded a double-double, posting 56 assists along with 17 digs.
Kuzmic finished with a match-best six blocks for the night. In addition, she recorded 11 kills for the match. Mijatovic extended her streak to 10 consecutive matches with a service ace after posting five on the night, her sixth match with five or more aces on the season. In addition, she posted a double-double with 10 kills and 12 digs for the Tigers. Kele Brewer led Arkansas with 18 kills, followed by Haaser with 12 kills and 10 digs. Miller led the Lady’Backs with 14 digs, while Karla Crose posted 12 digs and a team-high five blocks.
LSU will close out regular season action next weekend in the SEC/C-USA Challenge. The Tigers will host Tulane on Friday at 7 p.m. and Houston on Saturday at 7 p.m. Alabama will also participate in the tournament and face Houston on Friday at 5 p.m. and Tulane on Saturday at 5 p.m.