TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – After posting back-to-back victories to conclude the Carolina Classic, the LSU volleyball team will look to continue its winning ways Friday at Alabama during the SEC opener for both teams.
First serve is slated for 7 p.m. inside Foster Auditorium, and a free live audio webcast will be available at LSUsports.net/live.
LSU (4-5) holds a 32-21 series advantage and has won 11 straight matches versus the Crimson Tide since 2006. The Tigers also have won seven of its last eight SEC openers dating back to the 2004 season.
Alabama (11-1) has pieced together nine consecutive wins and has connected for a .274 team hitting percentage to rank fourth in the SEC.
Pricilla Duke-Ezeji, Kayla Fitterer and Laura Steiner have all racked up over 3.00 kills per set with Duke-Ezeji’s 3.72 clip seventh-highest in the SEC rankings. Defensively, Cristina Arenas has registered 3.29 digs per set.
“Foster Auditorium and Alabama is a tough place to play,” head coach Fran Flory said. “We know Alabama is much-improved from last year, and they are playing with a point to prove. We know we are playing against a team with a great deal of confidence. Road wins in the SEC are at a premium, and we know we’ll have a battle on our hands.”
LSU has picked up sweeps in three of its four victories in 2012. Last time out, the Tigers turned in a season’s best .311 hitting clip, ripped a season-high 10 aces, executed at a 71 percent sideout efficiency, held a 68-52 digs advantage and outblocked Western Michigan by an 11-3 margin.
Malorie Pardo dished out 53 assists and set a quartet of hitters to season-high performances in kills during the Western Michigan match. Her 10.11 helpers per frame are seventh among the SEC leaders.
Desiree Elliott has pounded home 3.46 kills per set, eight-best in the SEC. She has garnered double digit kills in five of her appearances highlighted by a 19-spike performance versus Western Michigan.
Madie Jones has put together 10 or more kills in all four of LSU’s victories in 2012 fueled by 13 spikes on a .345 hitting clip versus Western Michigan.
Khourtni Fears and Cati Leak have started all nine matches for the Tigers during their freshmen campaigns. Fears has racked up a team-best 32 blocks and her 1.23 stuffs per set check in at fourth place in the SEC rankings, while Leak has chipped in a balanced 2.29 kills, 2.36 digs and 0.68 blocks per set.
“The rebound that we had on Saturday was outstanding,” Flory said. “I’m really proud of our kids for that, and I think we finally got on track. It was a turn-around weekend, and we finally put it all together. We have been waiting for that moment. Certainly you would like to do that against high level teams and we were close against some of the teams like Washington and Purdue. For those matches we were close, but just couldn’t quite get over the efficiency edge and finally we had a break through moment with the Western Michigan match. We are excited about the step we took last weekend.”
On the back row, Meghan Mannari heads into the Alabama match 70 digs away from reaching 1,000 for her career. She has collected double figure digs in each of her last eight outings and her 0.36 aces per set are tied for fifth in the SEC.
Sam Delahoussaye, a Carolina Classic All-Tournament Team selection, has started her career with 101 consecutive appearances. She secured a season-high 13 digs against Western Michigan.
“Sam came in this season with a different level of maturity and focus,” Flory said. “She came in confidant a young woman who is prepared to really be a factor for us. I think this year she is going to be a key for us. She is doing a great job passing, and she is taking the pressure off of Meghan in the passing reception patterns. She also has made more scramble plays and run down more balls than anyone else on our team thus far too. I am prepared for her to have a great year.”
Dating back to the 2005 season, LSU has racked up a 163-60 record and is one of 25 programs nationally to secure bids to six of the last seven NCAA Tournaments.
The Tigers have collected seven consecutive SEC Western championships highlighted by the overall league championship in 2009. It’s the second longest streak in SEC history, only behind Florida’s 14-year run on top of the SEC’s Eastern Division from 1995-2008.
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.