BATON ROUGE — Fresh off a thrilling 3-2 comeback victory over Tennessee on Friday, the LSU volleyball team continues Alumnae Weekend with a showdown against No. 16 Kentucky Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. inside the Maravich Center.
The match is televised nationally by ESPNU marking the first-ever SEC regular season volleyball match to air on the ESPN family of networks. The Tigers will pay tribute to former LSU head coach Scott Luster and the 1991 Final Four Team.
LSU (7-3, 1-0 SEC) enters Sunday’s match winners of 33 of its last 34 home matches against league opponents other than Florida since the 2005 season.
LSU saved their two best hitting percentages for the fourth and fifth sets against the Lady Vols as Sam Dabbs distributed a career-high 56 assists. The Tigers also registered an 83 percent (10-of-12) and 75 percent (9-of-12) sideout efficiency in the final two frames, highlighted by a career-best 26 digs from Lauren Waclawczyk.
Brittnee Cooper headlines the Tiger attack, racking up 139 kills on a scorching .368 hitting percentage. She also has posted a team-high 49 blocks.
Marina Skender is right behind Cooper, powering home 111 kills of her own. She enters Sunday’s match six kills away from passing Carmis Franks (1993-96) for 11th place on the program list.
Kentucky (10-1, 0-0 SEC) was the lone SEC team not in action Friday and is coming off its lone loss of the season against in-state rival Louisville. The Wildcats pace the conference in kills per set [14.80] and are led by Sarah Mendoza. She is coming off a career-best 26 kills against the Cardinal.
The Wildcats also top the league and rank in the Top-10 nationally with a .294 hitting percentage. Reigning SEC Offensive Player of the Week Sarah Rumely directs the UK attack and leads the SEC distributing 11.93 assists per set.
Prior to Sunday’s match, the LSU cheerleaders will host a free spirit clinic starting at 12:30 p.m. inside the L-Club on the front side of the Maravich Center. Participants will get the opportunity to perform a cheer on-court during the match.
Sunday’s match also continues LSU’s involvement in the 2009 SEC Together We CAN Food Drive. The Tiger softball team will be on-hand to collect can donations prior to the match. There will be five barrels inside the Maravich Center between the Lower Southeast and Southwest entrances. All proceeds benefit the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank.
LSU volleyball also is offering the Friends and Family Pass where fans receive four tickets, four hot dogs and four drinks for only $20. Live stats for the Kentucky match are available on LSUsports.net in the Geaux Zone.