BATON ROUGE — The only remaining undefeated team in the Southeastern Conference, the 13th-ranked LSU volleyball team will look to continue its nine-matching winning against Georgia on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. as part of “Family Day” at the Maravich Center.
The match will be televised live on Cox Sports Television in Baton Rouge on cable channel 38 and live statistics will be available on the official LSU athletics website, LSUsports.net. Families will be treated to inflatables for the kids and family festivities throughout the match. The first 100 fans will also receive free LSU volleyball lunch sacks.
Riding a nine-match winning streak, the Tigers (11-1, 3-0 SEC) have matched the ninth longest winning streak in school history and achieved their highest national ranking since hitting No. 12 in the final poll of the 1992 season. LSU had a tough three-game win over South Carolina on Friday night that saw the Tigers battle back from a late deficit in the second game and pull away late in the third game.
“It was a very tough match on Friday and we never really got into our rhythm,” said LSU head coach Fran Flory. “We are going to have to recover from that match physically and get back into doing what we do well on our side of the net and play our kind of game to be successful.”
The Bulldogs come into the match winless in the SEC at 4-9 overall and 0-3 in league play. Georgia has dropped five of its last six and eight of its last 10. On Friday, the Bulldogs were swept at Arkansas, 0-3.
“Georgia is a young team with a young setter, and they are kind of inexperienced,” said LSU head coach Fran Flory, “but they can be dangerous because of their athleticism.”
As a team, LSU leads the Bulldogs in every statistical category. The Tigers are recording 16.7 kills per game, compared to just 13.6 for Georgia, while LSU hits at a .249 clip and the Bulldogs swing at a .218 pace.
Defensively, the Tigers holds a rather commanding lead over Georgia in blocks, posting 3.1 a game, compared to 2.5 for the Bulldogs. LSU also lead Georgia in digs per game, averaging 15.4, while Georgia has just 14.6. The Tigers rank third in the SEC in opponents hitting percentage, holding opponents to just a.138 clip, while South Carolina ranks last at .230.
Freshman Lauren DeGirolamo leads the Tigers and ranks third in the nation with 1.82 blocks per game. The Collegiate Volleyball Update National Player of the Week, the Belleville, Ill., native has recorded six matches with eight or more blocks this season, including back-to-back double-figure blocking matches last weekend. In addition, she is averaging 3.14 kills per game with a team-best .348 hitting percentage.
Offensively, LSU is balanced with four players averaging over three kills a game. Sophomore Marina Skender leads the way with 3.69 kills per game. In addition, she leads in the SEC with 0.78 service aces per game, which ranks fifth nationally.
Senior Kassi Mikulik leads the Tigers with 4.16 digs per game. The Flatonia, Texas, libero became just the seventh player in LSU history to record 1,000 career digs against South Carolina on Friday. She also currently ranks sixth in the conference in digs per game.
Setter Daniela Romero ranks second in the SEC and ranks 14th in the NCAA with 13.20 assists per game. She currently needs 154 assists to move into third place in career assists in LSU history. In addition, she needs 117 digs to break into the top 10 in career digs in LSU history.
Maria Taylor leads Georgia with 4.21 kills per game, which ranks has fifth in the SEC, while only one other Bulldogs averages over two kills per game. Defensively, Brooke Peugh leads Georgia with 1.24 blocks per game and Brooke Burlingame averages a team best 4.09 digs per game.
LSU leads the all-time series with Georgia, 19-18, and the Tigers have won two of the last three meetings. The last time the pair met in Baton Rouge, LSU swept Georgia in 2004.
LSU remains at home next weekend to face the Mississippi schools. Fans are encouraged to show their Tiger pride by wearing gold against Ole Miss on Sept. 29. Admission is free for those wearing gold to the game and gold “Walk on the Wild Side” t-shirts will be given away.
On Oct. 1 against Mississippi State is “Camp Reunion Safari Day”. It is a chance for anyone who participated in the Fran Flory Tiger volleyball camps to get into the match free by wearing their camp t-shirt. Trading cards will be given away for a postgame autograph session.