BATON ROUGE – The LSU volleyball team heads into the final leg of an eight-match road swing and begins SEC play with a Friday tilt versus Ole Miss. First serve is set for 7 p.m. at the Gillom Center.
The Tigers (7-3, 0-0 SEC) dropped a pair of hard-fought decisions to Xavier and Western Kentucky to wrap up their non-conference slate. It marked the first time since the 2008 season that LSU has been handed back-to-back losses.
“Essentially, we’re seven points away from being 10-0, which for this young group is a great statement to what we’re going to be able to accomplish throughout the season,” head coach Fran Flory said. “The key for this young group is to continue to find themselves, and we’re on the cusp of doing that. We’re building towards that goal and getting a little bit closer each day.”
Ole Miss (4-4, 0-0 SEC) secured a trio of home victories over Arkansas-Little Rock, Central Arkansas and Northwestern at the Magnolia Invitational last weekend.
Amanda Philpot, reigning SEC Offensive Player of the Week, has been an all-around threat where she has posted 8.24 assists, 2.79 digs 1.69 kills and 0.55 blocks per set. She turned in a triple-double with 10 kills, 33 assists and 20 digs against Northwestern.
Regina Thomas, an All-SEC Preseason pick, has powered home 2.24 kills per set on a team-leading .343 hitting percentage. The .343 clip also is sixth-highest, while her 1.17 blocks per set are third in the SEC rankings.
“Ole Miss is certainly a great team,” Flory said. “They return an All-American [Regina Thomas] in the middle, a right side [Allegra Wells] who played in the USA A2 program this summer and a great active setter [Amanda Philpot]. They battled some injuries in preseason. As it is for everyone, everybody is aiming to get those people back and play their best for SEC. The bottom line is the champion of the SEC and the champion of the SEC West will have to succeed on the road. Road matches in the SEC are the key. We feel like we are prepared, but this is going to be a great battle as it always is in Oxford.”
LSU is headlined by Desiree Elliott, Madie Jones and Michele Williams on the offensive end. The trio has accounted for 62.6 percent of the team’s offense en route to averaging over 3.00 kills per set apiece.
Elliott has belted 10 or more kills in six consecutive matches and continues to be the only player in the SEC to be ranked among the league’s top 10 in four different categories. She has slapped 3.61 kills per set on a .332 hitting percentage to rank fifth and ninth, respectively. Her 4.47 points per set also are fifth, while 1.06 blocks per set are sixth in the SEC.
Jones returned to double digit kills for the first time since opening weekend and strung together a season-high 15 kills to go along with a career-best seven blocks against Western Kentucky.
Williams has come away with All-Tournament Team nods in each of the last two weekends. She also has racked up a team-high and SEC-leading 1.37 blocks per set.
“Michele is a great player and has put up great numbers since she began starting half way through her freshman year,” Flory said. “She’s a stabilizing force who is going to put up about the same amount of numbers, same amount of points every match. We’re trying to be a little more creative to get her a few more swings in those key situations that we need that extra point here or there. I can’t say enough about what she has done for this program.”
Malorie Pardo has handed out 11.32 assists per frame and charged up to the top spot of the SEC’s assists rankings. She has pieced together three straight double-doubles and became the first LSU freshman to accomplish that impressive feat since former All-American Daniela Romero in 2003.
LSU’s defense has put the clamps down on the opposition and limited them to the SEC’s second-lowest mark, a .121 team hitting percentage. The Tigers have already held their opponents to a .100 or under clip on six occasions.
Meghan Mannari has reeled off double figure digs in eight of her nine appearances. She has compiled 4.18 digs per set to check in at fifth position in the SEC rankings and enters the weekend 63 away from securing 500 career scoops.
Helen Boyle, Sam Delahoussaye and Lauren Waclawczyk have each added over two digs per set, while Waclawczyk heads into the weekend 24 digs shy from passing Lisa Smith (1984-87) for the No. 9 spot on the program’s all-time list.
“As every coach says, you learn more when you lose than when you win,” Flory said. “We had to take a hard look as coaches, and our kids had to take a hard look at what they were doing and how they were preparing for matches. Our sport is very unforgiving with rally scoring. One or two touches, one or two contacts, one to two bad decisions can cost you opportunities to win sets and to win matches. We’ve worked really hard on those situations and to make sure we’re taking care of the little finite details not just the big picture.”
Live audio and live stats are available for free at LSUsports.net 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.