Editor’s Note: Last in a series of 12 volleyball articles recapping the outstanding 2006 season, previewing the 2007 season, giving fans basic volleyball rules, terminology and scoring basics leading up to the season-opening Mizuno Tiger Classic tournament in the Maravich Center on Aug. 24-25.
BATON ROUGE — Coming off back-to-back Southeastern Conference Western Division titles and NCAA appearances, the LSU volleyball team is ranked No. 19 in the Molten Volleyball Top 20 poll as the Tigers open the 2007 season this weekend in the Mizuno Tiger Classic at the Maravich Center on Friday and Saturday.
The No. 19 national ranking marks the second preseason ranking for the Tigers this year after coming in at No. 23 in the AVCA/CSTV poll. LSU, which is coming off a 26-6 season a year ago and a 16-4 mark in the SEC, won its second-straight SEC West title last year after sharing the championship with Arkansas in 2005. The Tigers have also made appearances in the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back years for the first time since going four consecutive years from 1989-1992.
“We will be a fast, dynamic, very defensive-minded team because we have speed,” said LSU head coach Fran Flory. “Teams are going to have to beat us. We are not going to lose a lot in terms of us scoring points for the other team.
“We are a very young team but a very exciting team,” Flory continued. “The athleticism in the gym is at one of the highest levels we’ve had. The future is very bright, but from the start, we are going to take our knocks because we have some big shoes and big spots to fill. We are going to have to figure out how to fill those spots and who is going to step into those spots.”
LSU returns three starters, including first-team All-SEC selection Marina Skender. Among the other returning players are junior outside hitter Kyna Washington and sophomore middle blocker Lauren DeGirolamo. The Tigers also bring in a redshirt freshman and four true freshmen to join the seven returning letterwinners.
“Having dependable players back in Marina Skender, a first team all-conference player, and Kyna Washington, who I anticipate will have an all-conference type year this season; they will be our go-to players,” said Flory. “Lauren DeGirolamo is going to be an awfully good player again this year, and I look for her to have an All-America-type season. I think she is probably our top candidate to step into those shoes, filling in for Dee Romero who was All-American last year in the setting position.”
Along with LSU, Saint Louis, New Orleans and UL-Monroe will take part in this weekend’s tournament. The Tigers’ first match is on Friday at 7 p.m. against the Privateers. The Billikens will face the Warhawks in the tournament’s first match at 4:30 p.m. on Friday.
On Saturday, the action begins as LSU takes on UL-Monroe at 11 a.m. Saint Louis will take on New Orleans at 1 p.m. In the nightcaps, the Privateers will face the Warhawks at 5 p.m. The tournament concludes with the Tigers taking on the Billikens at 7 p.m.
Fans will have the chance to pick up team posters, schedule cards and schedule magnets at all matches this weekend. Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for children under 12.
Saint Louis finished the 2006 season with a 22-9 record and an 11-2 mark in the Atlantic 10 Conference. The Billikens made their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament before falling to Purdue in the first round. Saint Louis returns five starters and the libero, losing only starting player from a year ago.
UL-Monroe posted a 5-29 record last year, with a 2-16 record in Sun Belt Conference play, finishing seventh in the Western Division. The Warhawks return three starters and the libero from a year ago. Included among its returners, UL-Monroe will have four upperclassmen, but only one is a previous letterwinner while three others are either transfers or in their first year of collegiate play.
Under the direction of first-year head coach Joszef Forman, New Orleans returns three starters and seven letterwinners from a 2006 team that went 23-10, including a 12-7 mark in the Sun Belt. Forman, a former assistant coach at Mississippi State, led the Hungarian men’s team to a second place finish at the 2005 World Champion Qualification Tournament.
In two previous meetings with Saint Louis, LSU is 2-0 overall, including a 3-1 win over the Billikens last season in the Billiken Invitational in St. Louis. The Tigers are 14-0 all-time against UL-Monroe, but the pair have not met since 1999 and only twice since 1988. In 48 meetings with New Orleans, LSU is 46-2 overall, including a 2-0 record in season openers, although no current Tiger has ever played the Privateers, with the last meeting coming in 2003.
Florida leads the SEC in the national poll, with its No. 8 ranking, joining the Tigers as the only ranked teams from the SEC.
For the season, the Tigers’ only ranked opponent in the preseason poll is the Gators.
LSU returns to action next weekend as the Tigers travel to Houston for the Mizuno Invitational II. LSU will face Illinois, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and host school Rice.
2007 Molten Volleyball Preseason Top 20 Poll
Rank School
1. Nebraska
2. Stanford
3. Penn State
4. Texas
5. UCLA
6. Washington
7. Southern California
8. Florida
9. Minnesota
10. Hawai’i
11. Wisconsin
12. Purdue
13. California
14. San Diego
15. Ohio State
16. Cal Poly
17. Oklahoma
18. BYU
19. LSU
20. Utah