BATON ROUGE – The LSU volleyball team started its 2010 campaign Monday with a pair of workouts inside the auxiliary gym of the Maravich Center. The Tigers practiced for close to three hours during both the morning and afternoon sessions.
“Today was a great starting point,” head coach Fran Flory said. “We have a lot of young players and have to replace four great seniors [Brittnee Cooper, Sam Dabbs, Lauren DeGirolamo and Marina Skender] from last year’s team. Our young kids have come in very prepared to play, while our older players did a great job in the weight room. Physically, we’re ready to go but it will take time to learn the system.”
The defending SEC champions have racked up an impressive 115-38 record en route to five-straight SEC Western Division titles and are one of only 20 programs in the nation to collect five consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances since 2005.
For LSU to build on those impressive streaks in 2010, the Tigers will rely on veterans Angela Bensend, Brittney Johnson, Lauren Waclawczyk and Michele Williams. All four have logged significant court time with Bensend and Williams picking up 2007 and 2008 All-SEC Freshman Team honors, respectively.
Couple that with the buzz provided by LSU’s incoming freshmen class highlighted by Desiree Elliott, Avery Striebel and Nicole Willis, all of which garnered AVCA Under Armour High School All-America Second-Team status.
“With this many young players, there’s a lot of teaching that will have to go on early,” Flory said. “Truly, I believe one of the best parts about our coaching staff is that they’re great teachers. The players are already receptive and responsive, that’s a plus. We’re going to throw some things at them early and see how they respond.”
LSU is scheduled to practice for 12 consecutive days leading into the annual Purple & Gold scrimmage on Saturday, August 21 at 7 p.m.
LSU Volleyball Preseason Practice Schedule
Tuesday, August 10
8:30-11 a.m.
2-5 p.m.
Wednesday, August 11
10 a.m.-1p.m.
Thursday, August 12
8:30-11 a.m.
2-5 p.m.
Friday, August 13
8:30-11 a.m.
2-5 p.m.
Saturday, August 14
10 a.m.-1p.m.
Sunday, August 15
8:30-11 a.m.
2-5 p.m.
Monday, August 16
8:30-11 a.m.
2-5 p.m.
Tuesday, August 17
10 a.m.-1p.m.
Wednesday, August 18
8:30-11 a.m.
2-5 p.m.
Thursday, August 19
8:30-11 a.m.
2-5 p.m.
Friday, August 20
10 a.m.-1p.m.
Saturday, August 21
7 p.m. – Purple & Gold Scrimmage
Sunday, August 22
Off
Monday, August 23
1:30-4:30 p.m.
Tuesday, August 24
1:30-4:30 p.m.
Wednesday, August 25
1:30-4:30 p.m.
Thursday, August 26
1:30-3 p.m.
Depart for Texas A&M Invitational