BATON ROUGE — After playing one of their better matches of the season against Alabama on Friday night, the LSU volleyball team will try for a weekend sweep against Mississippi State at 1:30 p.m. Sunday in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
With a 3-1 victory over Alabama on Friday, LSU (13-9, 8-7 SEC) maintained its half-game lead over Ole Miss which upset No. 19 Kentucky in five sets. Mississippi State (6-19, 1-13 SEC) was swept by Georgia on Friday, which marked the 11th straight loss for the Bulldogs.
“Mississippi State is an up-and-coming team and is very young,” LSU head coach Fran Flory said. “They are very athletic, and they have a great deal of talent. We had a solid performance on Friday night, and we will need that type of performance again if we are going to succeed tomorrow.”
Mississippi State is paced offensively by junior Ioana Demian who has tallied 253 kills and a 2.91 kills per set average in 25 matches this season. Demian has also been the Bulldogs’ deadliest server as she has recorded 22 service aces.
The Bulldogs are led defensively by sophomore Ashley Newsome who has 95 blocks for an average of 1.09 per set, a number that ranks fifth in the conference. Sophomore Kayla Woodard is tops on the team in digs with 217 and averages 2.78 per set while Demian is second on the team with 186 digs.
LSU is led offensively by senior Kyna Washington who has pounded out a team-high 238 kills for a 2.90 average per set. Washington has also recorded 30 service aces and a 0.37 ace per set average, which is tied for first on the team with freshman Michele Williams and also ranks sixth in the conference. Junior Brittnee Cooper is two kills behind Washington with 236 on the season, and she ranks fourth in the SEC in hitting percentage with a .342 clip.
Two Tigers lead the conference in defensive categories. Cooper is first in the league in blocks per set with an average of 1.24, and she has recorded 102 blocks on the season. Senior libero Elena Martinez tops the SEC in digs per set at 4.72 as she has recorded 387 digs on the season, and Martinez has also finished with 20 or more digs in seven-straight matches.
On Oct. 17 LSU beat Mississippi State, 3-1, to bolster the Tigers’ all-time series lead to 44-7. LSU has beaten the Bulldogs in five-straight contests and has not lost to Mississippi State since November 6, 2005 when the Tigers fell in four games.
The match against the Bulldogs has been designated Family Fun Day, and an inflatable activity will be available before the match from noon to 1:30 p.m. on the south side of the PMAC.