AUBURN, Ala. — After having their 13-match winning streak snapped at Alabama last weekend, the 13th-ranked LSU volleyball team looks to return to its winning ways at Auburn on Friday at 7 p.m. in the Student Activities Center.
Live statistics for the match will be available on the official LSU athletics website, LSUsports.net.
The purple and gold are now 15-2 on the season and 7-1 in Southeastern Conference play. LSU currently sits atop the league standings, tied with Florida for the overall title and a game ahead of Alabama in the SEC West. AU is 11-8 overall and 3-5 in conference play, after falling to Ole Miss and Mississippi State last weekend, putting them into a tie for third in the SEC Western Division.
“Auburn is a much improved team and they have already beaten some people in conference that they were not successful against recently,” said LSU head coach Fran Flory. “They are very athletic and they are healthy, which is something that they struggled with. I think the environment is going to be difficult. It will be rowdy and it will be loud and we will really have to be prepared mentally to be successful.”
As a team, LSU leads Auburn in almost every statistical category. The purple and gold are averaging 16.7 kills per game with a .233 hitting percentage, while AU posts 14.4 kills per game and a .215 attacking mark. Additionally, LSU is averaging 2.0 service aces per game, compared to 1.8 for Auburn.
Defensively, the purple and gold leads AU with 3.0 blocks per game compared to 2.5. LSU also posts 16.6 digs per game, while Auburn averages 15.5. The purple and gold also leads the SEC in holding opponents to a .138 attacking percentage, while AU’s opponents are hitting .164 this season.
“Auburn’s setter is at a completely different level than she has been in the past and we are going to have to get back into our rhythm and our tempo,” said Flory. “We are going to have to lead in terms of pace in the match. We can’t sit back and be passive. We have to go out and play to win and be willing to risk making the big plays and play very aggressively.”
Freshman Lauren DeGirolamo leads the Tigers and ranks eighth in the nation with 1.69 blocks per game. After redshirting last year, the Belleville, Ill., native has recorded seven matches with eight or more blocks this season, including back-to-back double-figure block performances against Tennessee and Kentucky. In addition, she is averaging 3.25 kills per game and leads the team with a .344 hitting percentage.
Offensively, LSU is balanced with four players averaging over three kills a game and six players averaging over two kills per game. Sophomore Marina Skender leads the way with 3.60 kills per game. In addition, she leads the SEC and ranks fifth in the NCAA with 0.74 service aces per game.
Senior Kassi Mikulik leads the Tigers with 4.61 digs per game. The Flatonia, Texas, libero is just 62 digs from moving into fifth place in career digs in LSU history. She also ranks fourth in the conference in digs per game.
Setter Daniela Romero leads the SEC and ranks eighth in the NCAA with 13.35 assists per game. Ranked second on LSU’s career assist list, she currently needs 217 assists to record her 4,000th career assist. In addition, she is 61 digs away from breaking into the top 10 in career digs in school history.
Rachel Shanks leads Auburn offensively with 3.77 kills per game, followed by Jessica Glover with 3.72 a game. Julie Bosler is the only AU player averaging over a block a game as she is posting 1.23 blocks per game for the season. Shanks and Glover also lead Auburn in digs per game, averaging 3.63 and 3.02 respectively.
LSU leads the overall series with Auburn, 26-11, and has won nine straight over AU and 10 of the last 11. The last time Auburn defeated the purple and gold was in 2000. The 2006 LSU senior class is undefeated against AU, having posting a 5-0 record against Auburn over the last three seasons.
Following its match with Auburn, LSU will travel to take on nationally ranked Florida. The Tigers will face the eighth-ranked Gators on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. (CT). LSU will next be at home on Oct. 20 for a rematch with Kentucky before facing off once again with nationally ranked Tennessee on Oct. 22.