ATHENS, Ga. – The No. 17 LSU volleyball team heads into the second half of the SEC schedule Friday at Georgia. First serve against the Bulldogs is slated for 6 p.m. CT inside the Ramsey Center.
LSU (17-2, 8-2 SEC) dropped a three-set affair at Ole Miss last time out to end its 34-match SEC Western Division winning streak.
The Tigers will look to respond in a similar fashion after losing their first contest of the 2010 season at No. 2 Florida earlier this month. LSU was able to string together four straight victories after that setback.
“I think we had a nice bounce back week in practice,” head coach Fran Flory said. “We were physically and mentally exhausted after playing four matches in eight days. The team came back rested after the weekend off and had a renewed excitement for what we can accomplish in the second half of SEC play.”
Desiree Elliott has won three of the last five SEC Freshman of the Week awards and posted over a .300 hitting percentage in nine of her 10 league outings. She is coming off a career-best 13 kills at Ole Miss and her .423 ratio is second-highest in conference play.
Elliott also has been solid on the defensive end as well. She has racked up four or more blocks in six straight matches en route to league-high 1.29 blocks per set in SEC matches.
“Desiree is a fighter who will grind it out,” Flory said. “She’s a true workhorse middle. Our team does a great job of creating for her in those rotations [she plays in]. She’s also done a great job of giving credit to her teammates for her success.”
Brittney Johnson headlines the SEC and checks in at No. 33 nationally with 10.78 assists per set. She has climbed up to eighth place in the LSU’s ranking and passed out 1,534 career helpers. The Baton Rouge native has turned in a team-best eight double-doubles on the season.
Angela Bensend had her run of 12 consecutive double digit kill performances come to a close at Ole Miss. She has still powered home a conference-best 4.27 kills per set along with being ranked No. 23 in the nation.
“We basically wore Angela out,” Flory said. “You can’t set anyone 50 balls in a three-set match and expect them to withstand that type of load. The goal for the second half is to give her better swings so she doesn’t have to get out of system swings all the time.”
Michele Williams joins Bensend and has hammered down 3.18 kills per set. The Tigers are joined by Alabama and Mississippi State as the only teams with two players to boast that feat. The Magnolia, Texas native also has garnered 0.99 blocks per set to rank just outside the SEC’s Top 10.
Madie Jones notched 10 or more kills on six occasions during the first half of SEC action and her .359 hitting percentage is ninth in the league rankings.
Lauren Waclawczyk is fifth in the SEC and has tracked down 4.17 digs per set. She has cranked a team-high 21 aces and her 0.32 per frame ratio is fourth-highest in the SEC.
Sam Delahoussaye and Meghan Mannari have combined for 17 double figure dig performances. The duo has corralled over 2.50 digs per set apiece and posted 10 or more digs in three of their last four outings.
“Coaches in the SEC are outstanding and we’ve already faced some great game plans,” Flory said. “Ole Miss was a testament of what great coaches can do against a system. We’ve made some adjustments, and we’re going to have to be not as predictable. The bottom line is if we execute at a high level and control the ball then that puts us in a great situation. We haven’t done that recently. That was the focus at practice this week and I think our kids are prepared to do that.”
Georgia (11-10, 3-7 SEC) took a set at No. 1 Florida last time out. The Bulldogs have tallied 1.46 aces per set to rank second in the SEC as Brittany Northcutt and Valentina Gonzalez are among the SEC’s Top 10 in that category. Gonzalez also has belted a .407 hitting percentage and 1.02 blocks per set, while Ann Dylla has secured 1.12 blocks per set.
“Georgia has been playing really well,” Flory said. “They’re a much more consistent group and their young players have matured since the last time we played them. I know when they left our place a month ago they were ready to play us again. They’re going to be more efficient against us this time around so we need to be more prepared.”
Live stats for Friday’s match will be available in the Geaux Zone on LSUsports.net. Fans also can follow live in-match updates on the team’s official blog at http://lsuvolleyball.posterous.com.