BATON ROUGE — Without even playing on Sunday, the LSU volleyball team claimed a share of its first Southeastern Conference title in school history after Kentucky defeated Arkansas, 3-1, in Fayetteville, and the Tigers will enter the SEC Tournament as the No. 3 seed.
LSU (21-6, 11-5 SEC) topped the Wildcats in five games in the Maravich Center on Friday to close out the regular season. The win moved the Tigers to within a half game of the Lady Razorbacks in the SEC West. The loss by Arkansas on Sunday moved them into a tie with LSU for first place, with the Tigers holding the tie-breaker for seeding purposes heading into the SEC Tournament next weekend.
This season, LSU has posted the most wins since the 1993 season along with the most conference wins since 1992. The Tigers have also posted the best back-to-back overall record with 28 wins since the 1992-1993 seasons. It marked the first time LSU posted a divisional title since the league went to that format in 1992 and the first SEC Championship in any form since the Tigers won the overall title from 1989-1991.
LSU will now face sixth-seeded Alabama in the first round of the SEC Tournament at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. The Tigers lost to the Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa, Ala., site of this year’s tournament, 3-1, earlier in the season, but swept Alabama, 3-0, at home late in the year.
No. 5 Florida enters the tournament as the No. 1 seed based on the Gator’s winning the SEC Championship and SEC East Championship. Tennessee is the second seed, followed by LSU, Arkansas and Kentucky. Alabama is the sixth seed, while Mississippi State and Georgia.