HOUSTON — After winning three matches last weekend to open the season, the 22nd-ranked LSU volleyball team will travel to the Mizuno Invitational II in Fox Gym this weekend.
The Tigers will take on Illinois on Friday at 10:30 a.m., before closing out the tournament on Saturday against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at 11 a.m. and Rice at 5 p.m.
“This weekend will be a great challenge for us,” said LSU head coach Fran Flory. “We will have to play consistently all weekend and do a much better job of maintaining a high level of play.”
Last weekend, LSU went undefeated to claim the Mizuno Tiger Classic championship. The Tigers swept New Orleans and UL-Monroe before a hard-fought five-game win over Saint Louis, who won the Atlantic 10 championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament last season.
LSU sophomore Lauren DeGirolamo was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, while junior Marina Skender and sophomore Brittnee Cooper were named to the all-tournament team. A 6-1 middle blocker, DeGirolamo led the tournament with a .517 hitting percentage, breaking her career high with a .750 clip against New Orleans. Averaging 3.09 kills per game, she failed to record an error in her first two contests. In addition, she led the tournament with 1.36 blocks per game.
Skender posted the second best hitting percentage on the team at .382, while recording 2.18 kills per game, 0.73 service aces per game, 2.36 digs per game and 0.82 blocks per game. Cooper recorded a career-best nine blocks against Saint Louis as she finished the weekend with 1.30 blocks per game. In addition, she posted 2.30 kills per game while hitting .245.
Illinois began the season last weekend in the Dayton Flyer Classic, going 2-1, to finish second. The Illini knocked off Bowling Green on the first day of competition. Illinois then swept IPFW on day two before facing host Dayton in the final match. That match, which decided the tournament champion, went to five games with the Flyers outlasting the Illini, despite a pair of match points for Illinois in game four. Freshman Laura DeBruler and senior Vicki Brown were named to the all-tournament team for the Illini.
“Illinois is an outstanding team that is similar to us in that they have several young players in key positions,” said Flory. “This will be a great contest and we will get match up with an opponent that is very physical.”
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi also began its season at the Texas A&M Invitational last weekend, finishing second in the tournament. The Islanders went 2-1, with a lone loss to the host Aggies in their first outing. Corpus Christi came back to sweep both Prairie View A&M and Centenary.
For her efforts on the weekend, middle blocker Lauren Paslay was named to the all-tournament team and went on to take home Southland Conference Player of the Week honors. Jordan Wagner was also named to the all-tournament team for the Islanders.
“Texas A&M-Corpus Christi is a very solid team,” said Flory. “We will have to be very efficient to be successful against them.”
Finally, Rice opened its season last weekend as the Owls hosted the Mizuno Invitational. Rice posted a 1-2 record, including a pair of hard fought five-game matches. The Owls began the tournament with a three-game loss to Louisiana Tech. Rice came back in day two to knock off eventual tournament champion Lamar in five games, before falling to Oral Roberts in five, 18-16. Junior Jessica Jolderness was named to the all-tournament team for Rice.
“Rice is always a good team,” said Flory. “They always come out and play us very well.”
In six previous meetings with Illinois, the Tigers have posted a 3-3 series record, although the pair have not met since 1992, and played only twice since 1983. LSU leads the all-time series with Rice, 15-2, earning a 3-1 win over the Owls in the Tiger Invitational in Baton Rouge last season. The duo has met four times in the last three years, with the Tigers taking three of the four meetings. This is the first meeting between LSU and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
The Tigers return to action on the road next weekend. LSU will participate in the Iowa Challenge in Des Moines, Iowa. The Tigers will take on Iowa State next Friday at 5 p.m., before facing host Drake on Saturday at 10 a.m. and Iowa at 5 p.m. LSU’s next home match is Sept. 21 against South Carolina in the Maravich Center at 7 p.m.