KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 15 LSU volleyball team heads into home stretch of the regular season schedule and faces off against No. 21 Tennessee on Friday. First serve is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. CT to accommodate the Volunteer men’s basketball team who has its regular season opener that evening.
LSU (22-2, 13-2 SEC) has won five in a row to open up a 2.5 match lead over Ole Miss in the SEC Western Division race. The Tigers also have secured 20 or more victories in five of the last six seasons.
“We’re excited about what we’ve been able to accomplish so far this season,” head coach Fran Flory said. “Tennessee and Kentucky are always difficult on the road and probably the most difficult back-to-back trip in the SEC. We’ve got five tough matches ahead of us. Hopefully, we’ll continue to play well and execute at a high level.”
Angela Bensend has strung together five consecutive double digit kill performances and her 4.15 spikes per set top the SEC rankings. She belted 14 kills and tallied 16 digs against Ole Miss for her seventh double-double of the season.
Brittney Johnson has passed out a SEC-best 10.80 assists per set and eclipsed the 40-helper ratio on 10 occasions this season. She also has fueled the Tigers to a trio of Top 20 NCAA rankings with 13.42 assists per set, 14.53 kills per set and a .273 team hitting percentage.
Over her last five matches, Tania Schatow has ripped 23 kills and 18 blocks. The Fraser, Mich. product equaled a season-high with seven kills on a .538 hitting percentage against Ole Miss.
“Tania is doing a fantastic job,” Flory said. “We put her in the middle because she’s a big, physical blocker. She takes away a lot of area at the net which has helped our defense behind her. On offense, she’s connecting well with Brittney. We got a double positive out of the situation. She’s a senior who is getting going at the right time, and I’m really proud of her.”
Madie Jones has contributed eight double figure kill efforts in SEC action. Her 18 spikes against Ole Miss were her second-highest of the season only behind a career-best 20 kills against New Mexico State to conclude non-conference action.
Desiree Elliott and Michele Williams have headed up LSU’s blocking effort. The Tigers have recorded nine or more team blocks in six of their last 10 outings.
Williams also has averaged 3.18 kills per set on a .325 hitting percentage to check in at ninth place among the SEC’s Top 10 in both categories. Elliott’s .363 hitting ratio is sixth, while her 1.23 blocks per set are second during league matches.
“We made blocking an emphasis for us at midseason,” Flory said. “That has improved our backcourt defense. When you block a few more balls, you’re not digging as many balls. The balance between all of that is what we are striving to find. We’re not there yet. Certainly, at 22-2 everyone says how much better can you really get. We still feel that we can improve as a team.”
LSU’s back row of Lauren Waclawczyk, Sam Delahoussaye and Meghan Mannari have been a big part of the Tigers limiting their opponents to under a .150 hitting percentage on 10 occasions.
Waclawczyk has recorded 11 straight double figure dig performances and her 4.12 digs per set are sixth in the SEC. Delahoussaye has posted 10 or more digs in eight of her last 14 outings, while Mannari corralled a career-best 17 digs against Ole Miss.
Tennessee (21-5, 12-4 SEC) has pieced together a six-match winning streak highlighted by five sweeps. Nikki Fowler’s 3.66 kills per set and .320 hitting percentage are fourth and 10th in the SEC rankings, respectively. Leah Hinkey also has been solid for UT on both sides on the net. She has racked up a .376 hitting ratio to rank third and her 1.13 blocks per set are second among the SEC’s Top 10. Defensively, Kelsey Robinson has sprawled out for the SEC’s eight-most digs with a 3.70 per frame mark.
“Our last match against Tennessee was like a heavyweight fight and could have gone either way,” Flory said. “We expect another tough, physical battle. At the end of the season, coaches are trying to find that edge. Both of us are using our personnel differently and have tweaked our lineups. It will be interesting to see how those edges match up on Friday.”
Live stats for Friday’s match are available on LSUsports.net inside the Geaux Zone. Fans also can follow live in-match updates on the team’s official blog at http://lsuvolleyball.posterous.com.