BATON ROUGE — The LSU volleyball team opens the home portion of the schedule this weekend welcoming No. 6 Nebraska, Louisiana-Lafayette and Tulane to the Maravich Center for the Tiger Classic.
The Tigers (2-1) play host to the tournament for the first time since 2007 after a one-year hiatus due to Hurricane Gustav. Nebraska is the highest ranked non-conference foe to visit the Maravich Center since No. 2 Penn State during the 2006 season.
“We’re so glad to host a tournament after what happened last year,” Flory said. “Our players are excited to play a home match outside of the SEC. We’re expecting to have an exciting atmosphere.”
“Nebraska is a young and solid team that plays high above the net,” Flory continued. “Their setter Sydney Anderson is amazing and one of the best in the nation. They try to beat you by using their physicality and don’t have a lot of weaknesses in their six rotations. We’ll have to keep pressure on them and exploit other facets of the game to be successful.”
LSU turned in a 2-1 weekend at the Shamrock Invitational last weekend as the Tigers knocked off Denver and host Notre Dame after going the distance with 2008 National Runner-Up and No. 5 Stanford.
Michele Williams secured Tournament MVP honors after leading LSU in kills during both victories. She also was solid on the defensive end posting 19 blocks highlighted by seven solo stuffs and slapped a team-best six aces.
Brittnee Cooper joined Williams on the All-Tournament Team matching her kill total with 37 for the weekend. She notched 20 blocks at a 1.54 per set ratio, upgrading her 1.21 per set effort that paced the SEC in 2008 as LSU recorded 14.17 blocks per match over the weekend. For her efforts, Cooper was named SEC Defensive Player of the Week.
“Our middle blockers are the key and there’s no secret to that,” Flory said. “We try to beat teams by using our speed and height above the net. If we get that combination going consistently, we’ll have the best shot to be successful this weekend.”
Sam Dabbs was a welcomed addition back to the lineup as the Tigers concluded the weekend connecting for a season-best .347 hitting percentage against Notre Dame. She joined the team Saturday night after recovering from the flu in Baton Rouge to dish out a match-high 35 assists.
Brittney Johnson distributed 81 assists in two matches during Dabbs’ absence, while Marina Skender tallied a pair of double-doubles. Skender enters this weekend three digs away from becoming the fourth player in program history to reach 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs club.
Lauren Waclawczyk and Sam Delahoussaye notched solid performances on the back row. Waclawczyk posted a career-best 16 digs against Denver, while Delahoussaye followed by reeling in a career-high 17 digs against Notre Dame.
After taking on the sixth-ranked Huskers on Friday, LSU squares off Saturday against Louisiana-Lafayette and Tulane. First serve is set for 10 a.m. and 8 p.m., respectively.
“ULL is a feisty team and is going to keep the ball off the floor,” Flory said. “One of their strengths is they force teams into errors by keeping the ball in play. We don’t know a lot about Tulane because they didn’t play last weekend. They have a couple of new international players that are capable of taking over matches and there’s no doubt they’ll be ready to go.”
The Fall Sports Pass which costs $50 for adults, $25 for youth is now on-sale at www.LSUSports.net, the official Web site of LSU Athletics. The pass features 21 action packed events and results in a 66 percent savings off regular season ticket prices between the volleyball and soccer programs. Fans who purchase a Fall Sports Pass receive an LSU T-Shirt, Visor and Frisbee.
The Fall Sports Pass along with single-match tickets also can be purchased at the ticket office or by calling (225) 578-2184 or (800) 960-8587. LSU students, faculty and staff are admitted free with a LSU ID.