DAYTON, Ohio — After entering the AVCA/CSTV Coaches poll, the 22nd-ranked LSU volleyball team will travel to the Dayton Marriott Invitational this weekend in the Frericks Center.
The Tigers will face the host Flyers, which are receiving votes in the poll and have posted a win over then No. 18 Arizona, on Friday at 6 p.m. (CT). On Saturday, LSU will take on Indiana at noon (CT), before closing out the tournament against Wake Forest at 4 p.m. (CT).
“This weekend is going to be a great challenge for us, but we are excited about it,” said LSU head coach Fran Flory. “I feel like we are playing really well and hopefully we can go into it and have more of the same.”
Last weekend, the Tigers went undefeated to claim the Billiken Invitational championship. LSU defeated Texas A&M, 3-1, before sweeping then No. 22 Minnesota. In the finale, the Tigers defeated St. Louis, 3-1. Senior Daniela Romero was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player and the Southeastern Conference Player of the Week, while junior Vanessa Freeman earned all-tournament team honors.
The win over the Golden Gophers marked the first win for LSU over a nationally ranked team since an upset over No. 8 Notre Dame on Sept. 18, 2005, in the Sugar Bowl Classic. The Tigers only loss this season is a five-game heartbreaker to No. 2 Penn State in the Tiger Invitational.
“We went into last weekend know that, in terms of competition, the most difficult tournament and most balanced field with nationally ranked opponents, etc., but we kind of feel like this weekend is going to be the most important weekend and we still feel that way,” said Flory. “We’ve created a great opportunity for ourselves with our success thus far and we have to go into this weekend understanding the importance of these three matches.”
Dayton began the season at 5-2 after a five-game loss to No. 14 Purdue on Wednesday night in Dayton. The Flyers have recorded a 3-0 win over then No. 18 Arizona, with their only other loss to No. 12 Louisville in four games in the Courtyard by Marriott Airport East Classic in Louisville. In addition, Dayton won the Dayton Flyer Classic to open the season, winning all three matches without dropping a game.
“Dayton is a very good team,” said Flory. “We are starting out with the best team in the tournament. They are getting votes and have gone five or beating teams that are getting votes or have been ranked at some point.
Nicole Bateman leads the Flyers with 3.25 kills per game, while Faye Barhorst boasts a team best .407 hitting percentage. Barhorst also leads Dayton with 1.46 blocks per game, followed by Robynne Green with 1.25. Adrienne Green has posted 4.71 digs per game to lead the Flyers.
“Dayton runs an offense that is very difficult to defend and they are almost a mirror image of us,” said Flory. “It will be an interesting match. It will almost be like playing ourselves and them playing themselves. It will be a matter of who stays with the game plan and who is able to execute at the highest level.”
Indiana opened the season at 5-1, including a 3-0 record at the West Virginia Tournament to kick off the season, winning all three matches without dropping a single game. In the TIS Bookstore tournament at Indiana, the Hoosiers swept Marshall and Chicago State before falling in five games to Maryland, which is receiving votes in the poll. After dropping the first two games to the Terrapins, Indiana came back to even the match at two games each before Maryland took the match with a 15-3 win in game five.
Erica Shorts leads the Hoosiers with 4.72 kills per game, while Lauren Ditteon hits at a team best .321 clip. Gabrielle Allison leads Allison with 1.39 blocks per game, while Sara Diehl leads Indiana with 3.85 digs per game.
“Wake Forest is predicted to do well in the ACC,” said Flory. “They are a very young team, but an up-and-coming team with a bunch of young players that will certainly be impacting at some point. That is going to be a great challenge for us.”
Wake Forest opened the season last week with a 2-1 record in the Coors Invitational in Fort Collins, Colo. The Demon Deacons dropped the season opener to Colorado State, 3-0, before sweeping James Madison and Florida Atlantic.
Natalie Mullikin leads Wake Forest in most statistical categories with a team best 4.00 kills per game, while also leading the team with a .333 hitting percentage. In addition, she leads the team with 1.22 blocks per game. Jenna Doane leads the Demon Deacons with 4.56 digs per game.
“Any time you can match up with a Big Ten team, it’s the right thing to do,” said Flory. “They are having a very successful season thus far and are a much improved team from last year.”
In two previous meetings with Indiana, LSU has won both matches, but the pair have not met since 1986. This will be the first meetings between the Tigers and both Flyers and Wake Forest.
LSU returns to the road next weekend to kick off SEC action. The Tigers will travel to face No. 12 Tennessee, which LSU defeated 3-0 last year before the Lady Vols advanced to the NCAA Final Four, on Friday at 6 p.m. (CT), before taking on Kentucky on Sunday at 1 p.m. (CT). The match against the Wildcats will be televised live on SEC-TV in Baton Rouge on Fox Sports Southwest (cable channel 38). LSU’s next home match is Sept. 22 against South Carolina in the Maravich Center at 7 p.m.