BATON ROUGE ? LSU middle blocker Michele Williams picked up SEC Defensive Player of the Week accolades Monday as announced by the league office. This is Williams’ first weekly award of the season and second of her career.
“Michele has worked extremely hard and developed into a disciplined blocker,” head coach Fran Flory said. “She doesn’t overreach or overplay the ball. A big difference is the time she’s put in on her footwork and it has paid off for her in earning this award.”
Williams dominated the front row as LSU (22-5, 16-2 SEC) extended its winning streak to seven matches and grabbed sole possession of second place of second place in the overall SEC standings.
She recorded 1.71 blocks per set highlighted by seven stuffs in LSU’s 3-0 sweep at South Carolina. She also tallied five blocks during the Tigers 3-1 triumph at No. 10 Florida. The Magnolia, Texas product has provided at least five blocks in 10 of her last 15 matches.
With its win at Florida, LSU became the first SEC Western Division school to knock off the Gators at the O’Connell Center since the Tigers accomplished that feat back in 1990, a streak that stretched 72 matches.
LSU also vaulted up to No. 17 in the latest edition of the American Volleyball Coaches Association [AVCA] Top 25 poll released Monday. The Tigers have won 15 of last 16 and notched 10 sweeps during the stretch run.
LSU racked up 558 points and are joined by No. 10 Kentucky and No. 13 Florida from the SEC. Tennessee is receiving votes in this week’s poll.
The Tigers return to action and welcome Mississippi State Friday to the Maravich Center. First serve is slated for 7 p.m. with live video and live stats available in the Geaux Zone on LSUsports.net. Fans also can follow in-match updates of the five-time defending SEC Western Division champions via www.twitter.com/lsuvolleyball.
Tickets are now on-sale at www.LSUSports.net/tickets, the official Web site of LSU Athletics. Tickets also can be purchased at the ticket office on the first floor of the Athletics Administration Building or by calling (225) 578-2184. LSU students, faculty and staff are admitted free with a valid LSU ID.
LSU volleyball is offering the Friends and Family Pass where fans receive four tickets, four hot dogs and four drinks for only $20.
AVCA Top 25
Rank, School (First-Place Votes), Total Points, 2009 Record, Last Week
1. Penn State (60), 1500, 28-0, 1
2. Texas, 1425, 20-1, 2
3. Hawai’i, 1390, 25-2, 3
4. Washington, 1265, 21-4, 4
5. Illinois, 1219, 21-4, 5
6. Stanford, 1168, 18-7, 7
7. UCLA, 1127, 20-7, 6
8. Iowa State, 1116, 22-4, 8
9. Nebraska, 1024, 19-6, 9
10. Kentucky, 936, 25-2, 11
11. California, 878, 17-8, 12
12. Minnesota, 831, 21-7, 13
13. Florida, 733, 20-4, 10
14. Michigan, 663, 22-7, 14
T-15. Florida State, 642, 25-2, 15
T-15. Southern California, 642, 17-9, 17
17. LSU, 558, 22-5, 19
18. Oregon, 486, 16-8, 16
19. Arizona, 469, 18-7, 18
20. Saint Louis, 294, 22-6, 20
21. Northern Iowa, 241, 26-2, 22
22. St. Mary’s (Calif.), 223, 19-4, 23
23. Notre Dame, 163, 20-4, 24
24. Baylor, 99, 21-7, 21
25. Colorado State, 91, 22-4, NR
Others Receiving Votes and appearing on two or more ballots: Dayton 59; San Diego 38; Florida International 37; Washington State 36; Duke 25; UC Irvine 25; Ohio State 21; Pepperdine 19; Oklahoma 13; Long Beach State 8; Tennessee 8; Texas A&M 8; UC Santa Barbara 7; Oregon State 5; Ohio 2