BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – LSU setter Malorie Pardo picked up SEC Freshman of the Week accolades for the second consecutive week Monday as announced by the league office. For Pardo, she joined former All-Americans Marina Skender [2005] and Lauren DeGirolamo [2007] along with Desiree Elliott [2010] as the only players in program history to win the conference’s freshman weekly honor on three occasions.
“Malorie is a confident player and continues to be a driving force for our team from the setter position,” head coach Fran Flory said. “She showed her toughness and competitive moxy during Sunday’s match against Ole Miss. Not many players would have come back into the match after hitting their head on the floor as hard as Malorie did during that fourth set. Our hitters are responding to her, and we’re hoping that our best volleyball is still ahead of us.”
Pardo distributed 13.38 helpers per set to vault into first place on the SEC assists leaderboard. Her 47 assists matched a SEC season-high for a three-set match as LSU connected for a .468 hitting percentage versus Alabama, its best effort since opening weekend.
Pardo followed that up and equaled a career-best with 60 assists against Ole Miss. She also tacked on 14 digs for her team-leading eighth double-double of the season. The League City, Texas, native sparked five hitters to 10 or more kills, the last time LSU reached that impressive achievement was during a five-set upset of No. 13 Tennessee during the 2006 season.
LSU embarks on a critical four-match road trip and will make its fourth television appearance of the season Wednesday at Arkansas. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. on ESPNU with Adam Amin and Elizabeth Moreau on the call.
Live audio and live stats are offered inside 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.