ATLANTA — As the LSU campus continues to serve as a recovery site for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, the Tiger volleyball team will travel to Atlanta to participate in the Georgia State Invitational this weekend.
As a show of support, the Georgia State volleyball team will conduct a fundraiser during the tournament. Donations will be accepted at the door and one-third of the proceeds from merchandise sales during the tournament will be donated to the American Red Cross.
With the university closed until Tuesday and many of the athletics facilities being used by the Federal Emergency Management Agency for medical services, members of the Tiger volleyball team have volunteered over the last several days, helping with laundry and with refugees and with anything else that was needed.
“I believe that our student-athletes have stepped up in the face of this disaster with their volunteer efforts and they are great representatives of their families and of LSU,” said LSU head coach Fran Flory. “We know the challenges that the people in the state of Louisiana are facing and are sensitive to those hardships, but we feel that the best way to overcome is to try and return to normal. We will attempt to step up for the state and give them something to stand behind in this trying time.”
While the Maravich Center, the home of the LSU volleyball team, is being used as a medical triage center, the Tigers have been practicing at the University Lab School gym and the Student Recreational Sports Complex.
“I think we have done a great job maintaining our focus despite the tremendous loss of life and property in our area,” said Flory. “I feel like we can maintain our concentration, but we also understand that we have members of our team that have likely lost their family homes. We are respectful of that situation, but we feel like we have to go on with the season and maintain our goals and our direction.”
For the second-straight year, LSU is off to a perfect 3-0 record. The Tigers will take on the host Lady Panthers on Friday at 5 p.m. (CST) before facing Jacksonville State and Wright State on Saturday at Noon and 4 p.m. (CST) respectively.
Last weekend, LSU swept the Georgia Southern Invitational, defeating GSU, 3-1, before sweeping Jacksonville and Campbell, 3-0. Senior Ivana Kuzmic was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, while senior Jelena Mijatovic and junior Lauren Leaumont were named to the all-tournament team for the Tigers.
Against Campbell, Kuzmic broke the LSU single-match record for hitting percentage with a .923 mark, recording 12 kills on 13 attempts with no errors. That mark is also tied for 22nd all-time in NCAA single-match history. For the season, she leads the Southeastern Conference in hitting percentage and ranks in the top 10 in blocks.
Mijatovic currently ranks third in the SEC with 5.60 kills per game and first in the league with 1.30 service aces per game. Leaumont leads the Tigers and ranks in the top 10 in the conference in digs per game a 3.30.
Georgia State enters the match at 0-2 after falling to Morehead State and Eastern Kentucky at the Comfort Suites Challenges last weekend. Jacksonville State is 0-1 after a season-opening loss to Mercer. Wright State is 0-2 on the year after falling to SMU and Ball State at the Ball State Invitational.
After the Georgia State Invitational, LSU travels to the UTSA Dome Rally in San Antonio. The Tigers will face the host Roadrunners, Texas A&M and Rice in the three-day tournament.