BATON ROUGE — After a pair of Southeastern Conference match sweeps last weekend at home, the 10th-ranked LSU volleyball team takes to the road this weekend, where the Tigers will meet up with Georgia on Friday at 6 p.m. (CT) in the Ramsey Center.
Holding a two-game lead over Alabama in the SEC Western Division, LSU is 18-3 on the season with a 10-2 mark in conference play. The Tigers are now a game and a half behind Florida in the overall league race with eight conference matches remaining, including a rematch with the Gators next weekend.
After losing eight straight SEC matches to start conference play, Georgia has rebounded to win two of its last four and is now 2-10 in the league and 6-16 on the season. In their first meeting of the season, LSU topped the Bulldogs, 30-23, 30-24, 31-29, on Sept. 24 in the Maravich Center.
“This is a very, very important weekend for us,” said LSU head coach Fran Flory. “We need to be very prepared for this match. Georgia is a very young team that is ready to explode. When they figure it out, they are going to be a very dangerous team and I think they are getting to that point in the season and reaching that milestone.”
In their first meeting, the Tigers recorded 58 kills, compared to just 31 for Georgia, and out hit the Bulldogs, .217 to .079. Defensively, LSU posted 68 digs to just 61 for Georgia, while the pair were tied with eight blocks each. It marked the first of only three times all season the Tigers had fewer service aces than an opponent, recording six to the Bulldogs’ eight, and the most allowed by LSU this season.
Freshman Lauren DeGirolamo led the match with 14 kills, one of three Tigers in double figures with kills, followed by sophomore Kyna Washington with 13 and sophomore Marina Skender with 12. DeGirolamo also recorded a team-best .355 hitting percentage with four blocks.
Skender led the match with 16 digs, followed by senior Kassi Mikulik and Daniela Romero with 14 each. Romero also posted 47 assists for a double-double. Freshman Brittnee Cooper, in her first career start, led the match with five blocks.
Georgia did not have a player post double figure kill totals, with Nikki Hawkins leading the Bulldogs with nine kills. She also led the team with 15 digs and 18 assists. Brooke Burlingame posted 14 digs for Georgia, followed by Maria Taylor and Renee Johnson with 10 each. Taylor also led the Bulldogs with four blocks and four aces.
“Georgia is a much improved team,” said Flory about the difference in playing at this point in the season rather than when the Tigers played them early on. “They have kind of changed their lineup around and created a lot more opportunities for Maria Taylor, who is one of the best outside hitters in the league. Their returning setter is doing a great job of running their offense and certainly they are going to be much more difficult to compete with on their home court.”
For the season, LSU leads Georgia in every statistical category. The Tigers are recording a league-best 16.9 kills per game, compared to just 13.0 for the Bulldogs, while LSU hits at a .233 clip and Georgia swings at a .191 pace.
Defensively, the Tigers lead the Bulldogs in blocks, posting 3.0 a game, compared to 2.5. LSU also holds a commanding lead over Georgia in digs per game, averaging 17.1, while Georgia has just 15.0. The Tigers rank second in the SEC in opponents hitting percentage, holding opponents to just a.145 clip, while Georgia ranks last at .241.
DeGirolamo leads the Tigers and ranks sixth in the nation with 1.70 blocks per game. The freshman from the Belleville, Ill., has recorded eight matches with eight or more blocks this season, including back-to-back double-figure blocking matches earlier in the year. In addition, she is averaging 3.15 kills per game with a team-best .333 hitting percentage, which ranks ninth in the SEC.
Offensively, LSU is balanced with four players averaging over three kills a game. Skender leads the way with 3.85 kills per game, seventh in the league. In addition, she leads in the SEC with 0.70 service aces per game, which ranks sixth nationally.
Mikulik leads the Tigers with 4.66 digs per game. The Flatonia, Texas, libero needs just three digs to move into fifth place in career digs in LSU history and only 40 digs to break into the top 10 in single-season digs in school history.
Romero leads the SEC and ranks ninth in the NCAA with 13.45 assists per game. She currently needs 49 assists to record 4,000 assists for her career. In addition, she needs only 97 digs to become just the eighth Tiger to record 1,000 digs for her career.
Taylor leads Georgia with 4.22 kills per game, which ranks second in the SEC, while only one other Bulldog averages over two kills per game. Defensively, Brooke Peugh leads Georgia with 1.14 blocks per game and Burlingame averages a team best 4.35 digs per game.
LSU leads the all-time series with Georgia, 20-18, and the Tigers have won three of the last four meetings. The last time the pair met in Athens, LSU swept Georgia in 2005.
The Tigers will remain on the road to face South Carolina on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. (CT). LSU swept the Gamecocks in Baton Rouge earlier this season and have won four straight over South Carolina.
LSU will return home again on Nov. 3 to face nationally ranked Florida at 7 p.m. The Tigers fell to the Gators last weekend in Gainesville, one of only two losses for LSU in SEC play this season. The Tigers will then take on Auburn on Nov. 5 at 1:30 p.m.
Students are encouraged to come out against No. 7 Florida for “Gold Digger Student Night”. It is the Student Point game and “Gold Digger” t-shirts will be given away.
Mizuno is helping youth volleyball as part of “Mizuno Team Day” against Auburn. Local teams get into the match free with “Advocate” tickets available through the LSU Promotions office at 578-8960. In addition, LSU backpacks will be given away at the match.