BATON ROUGE – The LSU volleyball team returns to action and wraps up a three-match homestand Sunday versus Kentucky, who is receiving votes in the latest edition of the AVCA Top 25 poll. First serve is slated for 1:30 p.m. inside the Maravich Center.
Fans are encouraged to take advantage of the Geaux Free program and receive free admission for every home match this season compliments of The Advocate. The first 500 in attendance will receive a LSU volleyball static cling for their automobiles.
Kentucky (13-3, 4-1 SEC) possesses a balanced offensive attack as six different players have connected for over 100 kills on the season. Leading the way is Ashley Frazier at a 2.91 per set ratio, who cranked 18 kills during the Wildcats 3-1 victory Friday at Arkansas.
Stephanie Klefot, a two-time SEC Defensive Player of the Week recipient, is at the top of the SEC digs leaderboard and racked up 4.73 scoops per set. On the front row, Gretchen Giesler has posted 48 blocks and her 1.04 blocks per frame are sixth among the SEC leaders.
The Tigers (10-4, 3-1 SEC) look to regain their winning form after a 3-1 setback Friday to No. 23 Tennessee in a battle of then SEC unbeatens.
“We have to bounce back against a very talented Kentucky group,” head coach Fran Flory said. “Losing to Tennessee wasn’t the end of the world, it was just one match. It was a match against a team that has a chance to do some special things this season. I was upset with the loss, but I was not upset with our effort. Things that we did not do well are things that we can fix.”
LSU will look to regroup from a .163 hitting percentage against Tennessee. Malorie Pardo had her streak of eight matches in a row of 40 or more assists come to a close. The reigning SEC Freshman of the Week dropped to second in the SEC and handed out 11.66 helpers per set.
Desiree Elliott and Madie Jones continue to headline the LSU offense. The duo has belted 3.47 and 3.42 kills per set to rank fifth and seventh in the SEC, respectively. Elliott has run off 10 or more kills in 10 straight matches, while Jones has garnered that same feat seven consecutive times.
Michele Williams has garnered 28 of her 57 blocks during her last five matches. Her 1.24 stuffs per set average are second-highest in the SEC rankings. With nine kills and 14 digs against Tennessee, Helen Boyle was just shy of totaling her fourth double-double of the season.
Defensively, Lauren Waclawczyk is coming off a season-best 18-dig effort against Tennessee. She has corralled 1,123 career digs and enters Sunday’s match 47 scoops away from Detra Brown [1983-86] for the No. 8 position on the program’s all-time list.
Like UK’s Klefot, Meghan Mannari has won a pair of SEC Defensive of the Week awards on the season. She has picked up double figure digs in her last eight outings and her 4.50 digs per set have allowed her to surge into second place on the SEC list.
Live video and live stats for Sunday’s match are offered through the Geaux Zone on LSUsports.net. In-match updates also are available via the program’s social media outlets at http://twitter.com/lsuvolleyball or LSU Volleyball on Facebook.
Fans can participate one last time in the 2011 SEC Together We CAN Food Drive by bringing canned goods to the Maravich Center. The canned goods collected at Sunday’s match by LSU’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee will benefit the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank.
For every home match, LSU volleyball also will be collecting books as part of its season-long book drive to benefit Everybody Reads Program through Volunteer in Public Schools. Fans are asked to bring new or used elementary level books to help local students. For more information, visit www.lsusports.net/geauxbooks.