COLUMBIA, S.C. ? The No. 19 LSU volleyball team wraps up the SEC road slate and carries a six-match winning streak into its Sunday matinee at South Carolina. First serve versus the Gamecocks is on-tap for 12:30 p.m. CT.
The Tigers (21-5, 15-2 SEC) have won 14 of its last 15 matches highlighted by nine sweeps and hold sole possession of second place in the overall SEC standings. LSU has already secured its fifth consecutive SEC Western Division crown and enters Sunday’s action a half-match behind Kentucky.
“South Carolina is a very good team and this match is going to be a tough challenge,” head coach Fran Flory said. “We haven’t play well at South Carolina the last couple of times. It’s going to be a difficult task, and we’ll need to be as mentally tough as we were at Florida to be successful.”
LSU is coming off an impressive 3-1 triumph at No. 10 Florida on Friday where Marina Skender knocked a season-best 20 kills. Brittnee Cooper chipped in 16 kills on a .500 hitting percentage as the duo combined for 36 of LSU’s 52 kills on the night. Cooper and Skender rank sixth and seventh in the SEC rankings with 3.47 and 3.44 kills per set, respectively.
Sam Dabbs circulated 46 assists and added 14 digs for her ninth double-double of the season at Florida. She ranks second in the SEC and has passed out 11.04 assists per frame. The Tigers are 15-5 when Dabbs eclipses 40 helpers over the last two seasons.
Lauren DeGirolamo has found her groove and popped 62 of her 118 kills over her last 10 matches. She also has tallied double-digit digs in five of her last seven outings and her 1.13 blocks per set in league matches are sixth.
Michele Williams has racked up 102 blocks and her 1.16 per set average ranks fourth in the SEC. She has provided at least five blocks in nine of her last 14 matches.
Lauren Waclawczyk and Sam Delahoussaye posted double-digit dig efforts at Florida. Waclawczyk has recorded 15 or more digs in nine matches, while Delahoussaye has tallied a perfect reception percentage in nine of her last 14 outings.
South Carolina (14-12, 5-11 SEC) has won two of its last three, including a 3-0 triumph over South Carolina State on Friday. Ivana Kujundzic paces the Gamecocks offense and ranks third in the SEC providing 3.99 kills per set. Sarah Cline is one of the SEC’s top liberos and reels in 4.40 digs per set.
Live stats for the South Carolina match will be available on LSUsports.net. Fans also can follow in-match updates of the five-time SEC Western Division champions via www.twitter.com/lsuvolleyball.