EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the final article of a 12-part volleyball series recapping the outstanding 2005 season, previewing the 2006 season, giving fans basic volleyball rules, terminology and scoring basics leading up to the season-opening Tiger Invitational tournament in the Maravich Center on Aug. 25-26, featuring the “Pack Pete’s Seats” match against No. 2 Penn State at 7 p.m. on Aug. 26.
BATON ROUGE — After over two weeks of preseason practices, the LSU volleyball team is ready to open the 2006 season this weekend as the Tigers host the Tiger Invitational at the Maravich Center on Friday and Saturday.
Along with LSU, No. 2 Penn State, Rice and Nicholls State will take part in the tournament. The Tigers’ first match is on Friday at 7 p.m. against the Owls. The Nittany Lions will face the Colonels in the tournament’s first match at 4:30 p.m. on Friday.
On Saturday, the action begins as LSU takes on Nicholls State at 11 a.m. Penn State will then take on Rice at 1:30 p.m. to complete the day’s first session. The second session begins at 5 p.m. with the Owls facing the Colonels. The tournament concludes as the Tigers take on the second-ranked Nittany Lions.
“We’re anxious to play somebody else and I think this weekend will be a great challenge, but I think we’ll be ready,” said LSU head coach Fran Flory. “The expectations for our team are very high this year. We are really excited and have worked very hard to prepare.”
Rice finished the 2005 season with a 17-12 record and an 8-7 mark in Conference USA competition, tying for sixth place in the league. In 2004, the Owls had the best season in the program’s history, posting a 25-5 overall record and advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history. Although the Owls return four starters plus the starting libero from a year ago, they are a very young team with just one senior leading nine sophomores and freshmen on the 14-player roster.
“Rice is one year removed from an NCAA Tournament appearance,” said Flory. “Everyone is talking about Penn State, Penn State, Penn State, on Saturday, but I’m talking about Rice, Rice, Rice. That is our first one and certainly our most important one.
“I think they are looking for a little revenge,” Flory continued. “We have an assistant coach that we hired away from them a couple of years ago – John Blackwell – and they love John as we do and we need to make sure that we protect that hire on Friday night. They are a very solid team. We know that right off the bat we are going to have to be ready.”
Friday, Aug. 25
4:30 p.m.
Nicholls St. vs. Penn St.
7 p.m.
Rice vs. LSU
Saturday., Aug. 26
11 a.m.
Nicholls St. vs. LSU
1:30 p.m.
Penn St. vs. Rice
5 p.m.
Rice vs. Nicholls St.
7 p.m.
Penn St. vs. LSU
All times Central and subject to change.
Home team listed second.
Nicholls State posted a 1-17 record last year after playing its entire season at Thibodaux High School due to the Hurricane season in south Louisiana. The Colonels return six players while bringing in five newcomers. Five of the six starters return for Nicholls, with the lone exception being Sarah Picou. In addition, the Colonels will have to replace 2005 libero Ashley Leonard.
“Nicholls is a young team, and we don’t know that much about anyone we are playing other than Penn State,” said Flory.
Perennial powerhouse Penn State finished the 2005 season with an amazing 31-3 overall record and a perfect 20-0 mark in the Big Ten, capturing their ninth conference title in the last 15 seasons. With 29 consecutive 20-win seasons, the Nittany Lions come into the 2006 season ranked No. 2 in the nation with 13 returning letterwinners, including five starters, while bringing in the nations top recruiting class.
“Penn State is going to come in ranked No. 2,” said Flory. “It is a great opportunity to have that type of team on our home court and have the opportunity to see where we are and I feel very positive about where we match up with them. I feel very positive about how our system will balance against theirs.”
Fans are encouraged to wear white to the Penn State match, as white “Walk on the Wild Side” t-shirts will be given away in an attempt to “Pack Pete’s Seats” and break the LSU volleyball attendance record.
“I think it will be a very exciting match and certainly hope Tiger fans will come out and support us this weekend at all of our matches,” said Flory. “We are trying to break the attendance record on Saturday night. We certainly hope that everybody will be there.”
Admission to the tournament is free with an “Advocate” ticket. Those tickets are available through the LSU Promotions Department by calling (225) 578-8960 before 4:30 p.m. on Friday.
Returning four of the six starters from a year ago and the starting libero, the Tigers have gained the much-needed experience they lacked over the last several seasons. LSU’s roster includes four proven seniors and a pair of sophomores that earned Freshman All-SEC honors a year ago.
“I think the expectations for our team are very high this year,” said Flory. “We are really excited. The poll just came out from the coaches and we are picked to repeat as SEC West champions and actually got a couple of votes to be the overall SEC champion this year.
“We are a senior-laden team,” Flory continued. “We are a team that has worked very hard to prepare and a team that has the right mix of youth and experience.”
In 16 previous meetings with Rice, LSU is 14-2 overall, including a 3-0 win over the Owls last season in the UTSA Dome Rally in San Antonio. The Tigers are 23-3 all-time against Nicholls State, but the pair have not met under Flory’s guidance. The last meeting was a 3-1 win by the Tigers to open the 1997 season. The only team that holds the series advantage over LSU is Penn State, which has won eight of the 10 previous meetings. The pair has not met since 1996 when the Nittany Lions knocked off the Tigers, 3-0, in the Tiger Invitational.
LSU returns to action next weekend as the Tigers travel to St. Louis for the Billiken Invitational. LSU will face Texas A&M, which is receiving votes in the AVCA/CSTV poll, No. 22 Minnesota and St. Louis in the two-day tournament.