SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Making their second straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament, the 16th-ranked LSU volleyball team will take on 14th-ranked California on Friday at 8 p.m. (CST) in Mott Gym on the campus of Cal Poly.
Fans can watch the live stats on LSU Sports Interactive, the official website of LSU, www.LSUsports.net.
The Tigers (26-5) earned an at-large bid to the tournament after winning their second straight SEC Western Division Championship. The Golden Bears (20-9) also earned an at-large bid after finishing seventh in the Pac 10 Conference. Both the SEC and the Pac 10 had seven teams earn bids to the NCAA Tournament.
“We’re exited about being in the tournament and going to California,” said LSU head coach Fran Flory. “One of the spots that our team always wants to go to is California. So they got their wish.
No. 15 national seed Cal Poly, the automatic qualifier from the Big West Conference, will take on Michigan, an at-large selection from the Big Ten Conference, in the second match on Friday at 10 p.m. (CST). If LSU advances past California, it will take on the winner of the Cal Poly-Michigan match on Saturday at 9 p.m. (CST). The Regional Finals for LSU’s bracket will be held in Austin, home of Texas, the No. 7 national seed. The NCAA Final Four will be held in Omaha, Neb. in the Qwest Center.
“We will play a tough first round opponent and second round opponent, if we are successful in the first round,” said Flory. “I think it is a favorable draw for us, however. Sometimes the tough road, the harder road is the best. If you don’t get pushed, you don’t get the level of motivation that you have during the season. We will have to go through tough players to get to where we want to be and ultimately this team’s goal is to be in Omaha.”
LSU and California are comparable teams statistically. The Tigers are averaging an SEC-best 16.9 kills per game, which ranks 10th in the nation, with a .233 attacking percentage. The Golden Bears are slightly behind with 16.3 kills per game, which ranks 25th nationally, while hitting at a .247 clip. LSU boasts 1.8 service aces per game, compared to 1.4 for California.
Defensively, the Tigers are averaging 17.5 digs per game with 3.1 blocks per game, which ranks 28th nationally. The Golden Bears only average 15.8 digs per game, while ranking 18th in the NCAA wit 3.2 blocks per game.
Senior Kassi Mikulik leads the Tigers with 4.77 digs per game. The Flatonia, Texas, libero broke the LSU singe-season record for digs and was just the seventh person in LSU history to record 1,000 career digs. In addition, she needs 31 digs to move into second place in Tiger volleyball career history.
Senior Daniela Romero leads the SEC and ranks 11th in the NCAA with 13.53 assists per game. She currently needs 119 assists to move into third place in single-season assists in LSU history. In addition, she was just the eighth player to record 1,00 career digs and now needs 88 to move into seventh place in LSU career history.
Freshman Lauren DeGirolamo leads the Tigers and ranks seventh in the nation with 1.66 blocks per game. The Belleville, Ill., native broke into the top 10 in single-season blocks assists and needs 11 block assists to move into third place. In addition, she is averaging 3.05 kills per game with a team-best .328 hitting percentage.
Offensively, LSU is balanced with three players averaging over three kills a game. Sophomore Marina Skender leads the way with 3.84 kills per game, followed by sophomore Kyna Washington at 3.38 kills per game. In addition, Skender leads in the SEC and ranks fifth in the NCAA with 0.70 service aces per game.
“As a coach you have teams that are really special and are really magical,” said Flory. “This is my team and I know that and they know that. They will take advantage of everything they have to put ourselves in a position to be successful.”
California enters the postseason after falling to nationally ranked Washington, 3-1, last week. The loss snapped a three-match winning streak for the Bears.
Angie Pressey leads California with 4.46 kills per game and is hitting .273 for the season, followed by Hana Cutura at 3.87 kills per game with a .228 percentage. Ellen Orchard leads the Golden Bears with 1.49 blocks per game, followed by Morgan Beck at 1.18. Jillian Davis boasts a team-best 4.92 digs per game for California.
The Tigers are making their second straight trip to the NCAA Tournament, their first back-to-back appearances since making four consecutive appearances from 1989-1992. Overall, LSU is making its eighth appearance in the NCAA Tournament and has posted a 10-7 record. The Tigers are one of three teams in the SEC to advance to the NCAA Final Four, making appearances in both 1990 and 1991.
LSU is 11-5 this season against teams in the NCAA Tournament, including a three-game sweep of St. John’s last weekend. The Tigers have not played anyone in their regional bracket this season. LSU is 0-1 all-time against California, falling 0-2 in the Mikasa National Invitational on Nov. 4, 1983. The Tigers are also 1-4 against Cal Poly, but the pair has not met since 1990, and 1-2 all-time against Michigan, with the last meeting in 1998.
In addition to LSU, six Southeastern Conference teams earned bids to the NCAA Tournament. Along with LSU, SEC Champion Florida, Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Ole Miss and Tennessee were chosen to participate in the postseason tournament. Ole Miss is one of five teams making their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament in school history.
The seven teams selected from the SEC are a record for the conference, breaking the previous high of six teams set last season. In addition, the SEC tied the Pac-10 and the Big Ten for the most teams in the tournament this season, followed by the Big 12 with six. The SEC has now had at least four teams selected for the last three years, the first time in league history that this has been accomplished.