Part 1: Setters
Seven seasons ago, LSU volleyball embarked on a historic journey. Many things have changed through the years; there have been dramatic victories and hard-fought defeats.
Streaks have begun and ended; prolific players have emerged into decorated All-Americans and moved on. New talent has developed and taken the reigns of a proud program.
With 159 victories, seven consecutive SEC Western Division titles highlighted by the league’s overall championship in 2009 and a run of six straight NCAA Tournament appearances from 2005-10, head coach Fran Flory has guided LSU to a very successful stretch.
As in the past, the 2012 season is no different. A new year for a new team, but expectations still remain at the same high level. A core group of returnees fueled by five players in Helen Boyle, Desiree Elliott, Madie Jones, Meghan Mannari and Malorie Pardo coupled with a top 30 recruiting class from PrepVolleyball.com has positioned the Tigers to continue their championship tradition
Second in a four-part series previewing the upcoming season takes a glance at what LSU fans can expect from the Tiger middle blockers this fall.
BATON ROUGE – Desiree Elliott is the lone upperclassman and headlines a young group of gifted middle blockers. She has already hammered home 630 kills during her first two seasons and her 3.40 per set average in 2011 ranked eighth among the SEC leaders. The 2010 SEC Freshman of the Year also tallied a team-high 102 blocks to anchor LSU’s front row defense.
“Desiree is the veteran of our middle blocker group, and we’ll look to her to establish a veteran presence on the front row,” Flory said. “She’s an explosive player and her quickness is a key to our exciting, up-tempo brand of volleyball.”
Marissa Maas and Madi Mahaffey are looking to build on freshmen seasons where they contributed in limited roles. Maas averaged 1.10 kills and 0.73 blocks over 14 appearances which included six starts, while Mahaffey posted 1.50 kills and 0.80 blocks during her six outings.
“Both Marissa and Madi had very successful spring seasons,” Flory said. “Their knowledge base and understanding of the game continues to grow which enables them to be more effective and efficient. We feel like we have to find a formula that allows us to maximize their strengths that fit directly within our system.”
Khourtni Fears notched multiple 20-5A All-District honors as a standout at Bellaire High School in Texas. She was ranked No. 27 on PrepVolleyball.com’s Senior Aces and named to the 2012 Volleyball Magazine/Rox Girls’ Fab 50.
“Khourtni has the opportunity to make an instant impact,” Flory said. “Her speed, agility and and raw athletic ability allow her to make good things happen when she is on the court. If she can pick things up quickly in our system, she has the chance to have a special freshman season.”
LSU, who is receiving votes in the preseason edition of the AVCA Top 25 poll, travels to the 26 West Longhorns Classic to open the 2012 season. The Tigers will square off with tournament host and No. 2 Texas [Friday – 6 p.m.] along with No. 19 San Diego [Saturday – 9 a.m.] and Cal Poly [Saturday – 4 p.m.].
All three matches will have free live audio and live stats inside the Geaux Zone on LSUsports.net, while the Texas match will be televised live on the Longhorn Network.
For all of the latest news and information on Tiger volleyball, visit www.lsusports.net/volleyball. Fans can also follow the program on its social media outlets at www.Facebook.com/lsuvolleyball along with @lsuvolleyball and @lsucoachfran on Twitter.
Admission to all 2012 home matches at the Maravich Center are free compliments of the Advocate’s “Geaux Free” program.