BATON ROUGE – The LSU volleyball team opens its 14th season under head coach Fran Flory and plays host to the Tiger Classic this weekend at the Maravich Center. The Tigers square off with Alcorn State [12 p.m.] and Louisiana-Lafayette [7 p.m.] on Friday followed by a pair of Saturday tilts with Jacksonville State [11 a.m.] and 2010 NCAA Tournament participant Miami [7 p.m.].
Fans can take advantage of the Geaux Free program and receive free admission for every home match this season compliments of The Advocate.
Tournament Homepage | Live Stats
Prior to Friday’s ULL match, there will be a Serve It Up BBQ where fans can enjoy free food and entertainment. The first 500 fans also will receive a LSU volleyball drawstring bag.
LSU, who is receiving votes in the AVCA Top 25 poll and picked to defend its six straight SEC Western Division titles, has posted a 30-11 record during their first tournament of the season with Flory at the helm highlighted by 11 consecutive winning opening weekends going back to 2000.
The Tigers are led by 2011 All-SEC Preseason Team picks Michele Williams and Desiree Elliott. The middle blocker duo combined to rack up 600 kills, which accounted for 39 percent of the team’s offense last season.
Williams garnered 2010 All-SEC Second-Team selection along with AVCA All-South Region Honorable Mention status last season and posted 3.12 kills per set to rank eighth in the league, second among middle blockers.
Elliott, an All-SEC First-Team pick and reigning SEC Freshman of the Year, connected for a blistering .337 hitting percentage to pace all freshman and check in seventh overall during SEC action. She also took home a quartet of SEC Freshmen of the Week honors to match a program record set by former AVCA All-Americans Marina Skender and Lauren DeGirolamo in 2005 and 2006, respectively.
The Tigers return all three members of their stout back row that turned in a 97 percent serve-receive effort coupled with an impressive 65 percent sideout efficiency in conference play.
Lauren Waclawczyk anchored the unit with 4.05 digs per set, sixth-best in the SEC. LSU’s ability to pass well and scoop up 15.98 digs per set also was aided by Sam Delahoussaye and Meghan Mannari. Both amassed over 250 digs and teamed up for 42-perfect passer ratings.
On the outside, Madie Jones headlines a young group of hitters. She popped 10 of her 13 double digit kill performances in SEC play and her 283 spikes at a 2.64 per set ratio checked in third-highest on the team.
The Tigers will have to reload at the setter position after losing Brittney Johnson, an AVCA All-South Region Honorable Mention performer. Waiting in the wings to fill the void are Shelby Pursley and Malorie Pardo.
Dating back to the 2005 season, LSU has collected a 140-44 record and claimed six consecutive SEC Western Division titles. The Tigers also have tallied the nation’s 11th-best winning percentage and are one of 18 programs nationally to secure six consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances since 2005.
Live stats are available for every tournament match at LSUsports.net, while all of LSU’s matches will have live video inside the Geaux Zone. Fans also can follow in-match updates via the program’s social media outlets at http://twitter.com/lsuvolleyball or LSU Volleyball on Facebook.