BATON ROUGE — The LSU volleyball team wraps up the pre-conference tournament schedule with matches against host Tulane, Long Beach State and New Orleans this weekend at the Allstate Sugar Bowl Classic inside Fogelman Arena.
LSU (4-2) is on the cusp of entering the AVCA Top 25 after raising its vote totals each of the season’s first three weeks. The Tigers only setbacks have been in five sets against No. 5 Stanford and No. 6 Nebraska, a pair of 2008 Final Four participants.
LSU swept Tulane to conclude the Tiger Classic behind a combined 31 kills from Brittnee Cooper, Marina Skender and Madie Jones. The Tigers knocked a season-best .375 hitting percentage aided by 38 Sam Dabbs assists against the Green Wave. The last time LSU played the same opponent in consecutive matches was against Arkansas to conclude the 2000 season.
“The first challenge we have to tackle is playing Tulane in back-to-back matches,” head coach Fran Flory said. “They’re going to make some adjustments and get into a lineup that they’re comfortable with after last weekend. Emotions will be high for them playing at home for the first time after they unveil their Conference USA championship and NCAA Tournament banners from last year before the match.”
“Long Beach State is a physical and gifted team,” Flory continued. “They’re always well-trained, posses excellent ball control and a team that isn’t going to give you anything. UNO is a balanced team with a lot of international flavor. We’re going to have be efficient all weekend long to be successful.”
Cooper, a 2009 Preseason All-SEC honoree, has started the season by claiming back-to-back All-Tournament Team honors en route to the SEC Defensive and Offensive Player of the Week awards on consecutive weeks. She is the first player in league history to accomplish that feat.
The Houston, Texas product has connected for a team-best 80 kills on an impressive .365 hitting percentage highlighted by a dominant 20-kill performance against No. 6 Nebraska. She joined three-time AVCA All-American Destinee Hooker of Texas as the only players to knock 20 kills and hit over .500 against the Cornhuskers since 1997.
“Brittnee has turned it up and it’s nice to see her dominate,” Flory said. “She’s a physical player that has proven that she can bring her best effort against the nation’s elite.”
Skender joined Cooper on the Tiger Classic All-Tournament Team and has powered home double-digit kills in five of her six matches after missing the entire 2008 season due to injury. She became the fifth player in program history to reach the 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs club after reeling in 12 digs against No. 6 Nebraska.
Dabbs made it three LSU players on the Tiger Classic All-Tournament Team and ranks second in the SEC distributing 10.42 assists per set.
Lauren Waclawczyk has tallied double-digit digs in five of her six matches as the starting defensive specialist, while Madie Jones has seen action in 22 of 24 sets as a freshman and has chipped in seven or more kills on four occasions.
Michele Williams hopes to bounce back after being held to 12 kills on a -.070 hitting percentage at the Tiger Classic. She can look back to the Shamrock Classic at Notre Dame where she notched Tournament MVP honors.
“We need be a team that improves on putting pressure and attacking our opponents with our serve like we did at Notre Dame,” Flory said. “The next part is that our offense needs to be more adaptable. We’ve worked hard in practice to create opportunities for different people not only out of serve-receive but in transition to make us a more efficient offense.”
Fans can follow all three matches from the Allstate Sugar Bowl Classic via live stats on LSUsports.net.