AUBURN, Ala. — After just their second loss this season, the 24th-ranked LSU volleyball team looks to rebound on Sunday against Auburn at 1 p.m. at the Student Activities Center.
The match will be televised on SEC-TV in Baton Rouge on FSN Southwest, cable channel 38. The purple and gold dropped a 3-1 decision at Alabama on Friday and are now 12-2 overall and 2-1 in the Southeastern Conference. AU fell to Arkansas, 3-1, on Friday and is now 7-4 on the season and 1-2 in league play.
“The Auburn match is on TV, which is a wonderful opportunity for us,” said LSU head coach Fran Flory. “Auburn is a much improved team. They have several veterans that have been through their system that they rely on and they have brought in several outstanding freshmen. They have a balanced team and a balanced attack.”
Senior Jelena Mijatovic leads LSU and ranks second in the SEC with 4.61 kills per game. In addition, she ranks in the top 10 in the NCAA in service aces per game with 0.74. In addition, senior Ivana Kuzmic leads the SEC and ranks in the fourth in the nation in blocks per game at 1.74. She has posted three double-figure block matches this season.
Junior Kassi Mikulik leads the purple and gold and ranks in the top 10 in the league in digs per game at 3.44. While freshman Heather Fierce leads the team with 9.44 assists per game for the season, junior Daniela Romero leads LSU in assists per game in SEC play at 6.50.
For Auburn, Jennifer Amobi leads the team with 3.63 kills per game, while Rachel Shanks averages 3.25 kills per game. Julie Bosler leads AU with 1.08 blocks per game and Bailey Veit has a team-best 4.38 digs per game.
Of the two Tiger teams, LSU leads in every offensive category, posting 16.4 kills per game to 14.3 for Auburn. The purple and gold also average 14.8 assists per game and 2.0 service aces per game, ahead of 13.1 and 1.6 respectively for AU. Defensively, LSU posts 2.9 blocks per game to 2.3 for Auburn. The only statistical category Auburn leads the purple and gold is in digs per game as AU averages 15.1, compared to 14.1 for LSU.
LSU leads the all-time series with Auburn, 24-11, but is 6-7 in Auburn. The purple and gold, however, have won seven straight, including four in Auburn, and eight of the last nine.
LSU closes out its seven-week road trip next week. The Tigers will travel to face Fayetteville to take on Arkansas on Wednesday at 7 p.m. before facing Kentucky on Sunday at 12:30 (CT).