BATON ROUGE — The LSU volleyball team will close out the 2004 regular season by hosting the Southeastern Conference/Conference-USA Challenge on Friday and Saturday at the Maravich Center.
Joining the Tigers (16-11) from the SEC is Alabama, as the pair battles C-USA rivals Tulane and Houston. LSU will take on the Green Wave (17-10) on Friday at 7 p.m. and the Cougars (9-21) on Saturday at 7 p.m. The Crimson Tide (20-8) will face Houston on Friday at 5 p.m. and Tulane on Saturday at 5 p.m.
“I still feel like we have a great deal to play for,” said LSU head coach Fran Flory. “We made a nice run at the end of the year. I think this tournament could have ramifications in terms of NCAA Tournament bids as far as teams getting in from either the SEC or Conference USA. I think the SEC has played their way into getting several teams into the tournament. We need to go out there and take care of business for our conference and for ourselves.”
Both LSU and Alabama are coming off losses in the first round of the SEC Tournament last weekend. The Tigers lost a heartbreaking five-game match to Arkansas, battling back from an 0-2 deficit to send the match to a decisive fifth game. The Crimson Tide also lost in five games, taking the 2-0 lead before dropping the final three games to Georgia.
Both Houston and Tulane posted 1-1 records in the 12-team Conference USA Tournament last weekend, which features byes for the top four seeds. The eighth-seeded Cougars swept ninth-seeded East Carolina in the first round before being swept by conference tournament champion Louisville in the second round. The sixth-seeded Green Wave topped 11th-seeded Charlotte in four games before being swept by third-seeded Marquette in the second round.
This season, LSU is led by junior Jelena Mijatovic with a 3.24 kills per game average. The outside hitter from Belgrade, Serbia, also ranks third in the NCAA in service aces per game, recording 71 aces in 90 games this season. Senior Regan Hood leads the team in kills with 315, marking the third consecutive season she has posted over 300 kills.
Junior Ivana Kuzmic leads the team in all blocking categories, posting a 1.52 blocks per game average. She ranks 23rd nationally in blocking and leads the SEC. In addition, she leads the team in attacking percentage, hitting at a .280 clip on the year.
Senior Rachel Pittman is the team leader in digs and digs per game, recording 3.06 digs per game on the season. The libero became the 23rd player in LSU history to record 700 kills after posting a career-best 303 this season.
Tulane’s loss in the second round of the C-USA Tournament snapped a four-match winning streak for the Green Wave. After beginning the season 5-0, Tulane finished off the year at 12-10.
Second-Team All-C-USA selection Deva Fowler leads the Green Wave with 345 kills and 126 blocks on the season. In addition, she is hitting at a .316 clip while recording 1.08 digs per game. Anastasia Kenon, Lindsey Norman and Sarah Weiland also average over three kills per game for Tulane.
Defensively, Chelsee Hurley ranks second to Fowler with 100 blocks on the season, while Kelli Dickson has posted 400 digs for a 4.35 digs per game average.
The Tigers are 39-16 all-time against the Green Wave, including a 20-3 record in Baton Rouge. LSU won the first four meetings between the pair and has posted four winning streaks of five matches or more all-time, including a record eight straight between 1987 and 1992. The Tigers lost the last meeting to Tulane, 3-1, last season in New Orleans, snapping a three-match win streak for LSU.
Houston snapped a four-match losing streak with its win in the first round of the C-USA Tournament before falling in the quarterfinals. The Cougars began the season 1-11 before going 8-10 the rest of the way.
Houston is led by Kelly McAnelly with 452 kills and a 4.15 kills per game average. In addition, Becca Sartori, Loure Dews and Kariny Ritter have each posted over 300 kills for the Cougars this season.
Defensively, Dews leads Houston with 102 blocks and a 0.92 blocks per game average. The Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year, Jaci Gonzalez, leads the Cougars with 616 digs and a 5.55 digs per game average, which leads C-USA and ranks 21st nationally.
The Tigers are 14-9 all-time against Houston, including a perfect 8-0 record in Baton Rouge. LSU won eight straight against the Cougars between 1989 and 1992. The Tigers have dropped the last two meetings with Houston, both coming on the road.
The NCAA Tournament selections will be announced on Sunday at 6 p.m. during the selection show on ESPNEWS. Tennessee earned the automatic bid from the SEC by winning the conference tournament last weekend in Gainesville, Fla. There are 31 automatic qualifying teams and 33 available at-large bids to the tournament.