BATON ROUGE — LSU volleyball player Lauren DeGirolamo was named the Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week, it was announced by the league office on Monday.
The Belleville, Ill., native led the Tigers to a 2-0 record to start SEC play, including a come-from-behind win at No. 13 Tennessee and a win at Kentucky. It marked the first win in Knoxville for LSU since 2001 and the first win in Lexington since 1999. The middle blocker led LSU in hitting percentage, blocks and blocks per game for the week, while ranking second on the team in kills per game.
Against the Lady Vols on Friday, DeGirolamo notched 16 kills and a career-best 10 blocks, recording her first career double-double. The Tigers fell behind 2-0 before rallying to win the final three games to earn the victory.
Two days later against Kentucky, she tied her career best with 10 blocks against the Wildcats, while adding 14 kills as LSU rallied after losing the first game to defeat Kentucky, 3-1. It marked her second straight double-double and was the first back-to-back double-digit blocking total for the Tigers since former All-American Ivana Kuzmic accomplished the feat against No. 8 Notre Dame and South Carolina in September last season.
This is the second SEC Freshman of the Week honor for DeGirolamo and the third SEC honor for the Tigers this season. LSU has now earned seven SEC Freshman of the Week honors since the conference adopted the award in 2005.
The Tigers return to action this weekend at home against South Carolina and Georgia. LSU will face the Gamecocks, who topped No. 6 Florida in four games last weekend, on Friday at 7 p.m. for Group Night. Groups of 10 or more can get into the match free after reserving their tickets by calling (225) 578-8960 or emailing smclaugh@lsu.edu by 3:30 p.m. on the day of the match. The first 300 fans to enter the match will also receive free LSU collector volleyball cups.
On Sunday, the Tigers will host the Bulldogs at 1:30 p.m. as LSU celebrates “Family Day” at the Maravich Center. In addition to the match being televised by Cox Sports Television, families will be treated to inflatables for the kids and family festivities throughout the match. The first 100 fans will receive free LSU volleyball lunch sacks.