Overall Record: 4-5
SEC Record: 0-0
Last Week – Carolina Classic [Chapel Hill, N.C.]
Sept. 7 – at North Carolina [L, 3-0 – 25-18, 25-19, 25-14]
Sept. 8 – vs. Middle Tennessee [W, 3-0 – 25-21, 25-23, 25-23]
Sept. 8 – vs. Western Michigan [W, 3-1 – 22-25, 25-15, 25-17, 25-15]
This Week
Sept. 14 – at Alabama [7 p.m. CT]
Sept. 16 – at South Carolina [12:30 p.m. CT]
Notes on the Tigers
LSU wrapped up non-conference action with a winning weekend at the Carolina Classis hosted by the University of North Carolina. The Tigers faced a trio of 2011 NCAA Tournament squads and knocked off Middle Tennessee along with Western Michigan after falling to host North Carolina. All five of LSU’s losses on the season have come against either AVCA Top 25 opponents or team receiving votes in the poll. LSU came away with a season’s best .311 hitting percentage, slapped a season-high 10 aces, tallied a 71 percent sideout efficiency, compiled a 68-52 digs margin and tallied a 11-3 blocking edge during the Western Michigan match. Malorie Pardo distributed a season-high 53 assists and sparked four hitters to their best outputs of the season. Sam Delahoussaye and Desiree Elliott claimed spots on the Carolina Classic All-Tournament Team. Delahoussaye has played in all 101 career matches over her first three-plus seasons for the Tigers and registered a season-high 13 digs versus Western Michigan. Elliott posted 3.90 kills and 0.90 blocks per set. She ripped a season-best 19 kills and added four blocks against Western Michigan. For the season, Elliott has reached double figure kills a team-leading five times and her 3.46 kills per set rank eighth among the SEC leaders. Madie Jones has ripped 10 or more kills in all four of LSU’s wins and garnered 13 spikes on a .345 hitting clip versus Western Michigan. She checks in with a 3.07 kills per set average to rank 16th in the SEC. On the front row, Khourtni Fears has continued her strong blocking prowess. She equaled her career-high with six blocks against Western Michigan and totaled a 1.23 per set ratio to secure the third spot on the SEC leaderboard. Fears also cranked a career-best eight kills on a .636 hitting percentage during the Western Michigan match. Meghan Mannari has corralled 10 or more digs in eight consecutive outings and moved to within 70 scoops of becoming the 12th player in program history to reach the 1,000 career digs plateau. She has sprawled out for 4.18 digs and added 0.36 aces per set. Both feats are ranked seventh in the SEC. LSU spends its fourth straight weekend on the road as the Tigers open SEC action at Alabama [Friday – 7 p.m.] and at South Carolina [Sunday – 12:30 p.m.].