BATON ROUGE – After spending 11 straight matches and four consecutive weekends on the road, the LSU volleyball team will make its much-anticipated home debut of the 2012 season Friday when Kentucky visits the Maravich Center.
First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m., and fans will have the opportunity to “Geaux Free” to Friday’s match compliments of the Advocate. Gates will open to the public one hour prior to first serve, and the first 1,000 fans will receive a “Dig. Set. Roar” t-shirt along with a “Point Tigers” sign.
Both teams are looking for its first SEC victory of the 2012 season as LSU (4-7, 0-2 SEC) dropped consecutive decisions to Alabama and South Carolina, while Kentucky (6-5, 0-1 SEC) fell to Florida on the league’s opening weekend.
The Wildcats, who are receiving votes in this week’s AVCA Top 25 rankings, hold a 32-22 series advantage over the Tigers. UK has won seven of the last eight outings since the 2008 season.
“We are really excited for Friday’s match, and the opportunity to take our home floor for the first time this season,” head coach Fran Flory said. “I think both teams are in a similar spot and played very challenging non-conference schedules. Certainly, they are a very physical team that returns a lot of players from last year’s team that finished second in the SEC. It’s going to be a great match, one that is determined by who makes the fewest unforced errors and who keeps the ball off of the floor best.”
Kentucky is led by Ashley Frazier’s 3.15 kills per set which rank 14th in the SEC. She is followed by Whitney Billings and Lauren O’Conner who have chipped in 2.77 and 2.60 kills per set, respectively.
The Wildcats enter Friday’s match as the SEC’s top blocking team and boast a 2.72 stuffs per set average. Alexandra Morgan and Sara Schwarzwalder check in among the SEC’s Top 10. UK is fueled on the back row by Stephanie Klefot, the defending two-time SEC Libero of the Year. She has garnered 3.72 digs per set, ninth-best on the SEC leaderboard.
Last time out, LSU transitioned into a 6-2 offensive attack during Sunday’s five-set loss at South Carolina. Jackie Gerig and Malorie Pardo combined for 50 assists as the Tigers compiled a .256 hitting percentage versus South Carolina. Madie Jones and Helen Boyle picked up season’s best kill performances, while Desiree Elliott and Khourtni Fears notched career-highs in blocks.
Elliott has powered home 3.39 kills and 0.89 blocks per set to rank inside the SEC’s Top 15 in both categories. She has reached 10 or more spikes a team-leading six times.
LSU has won four of five matches when Jones has reached double digit kills. She exploded for a season-high 18 kills and an impressive .429 hitting clip during the South Carolina match.
Boyle has ripped 32 of her 65 kills on the season over her last three appearances. She nearly provided her first double-double of 2012 with 15 kills and nine digs at South Carolina.
Fears has racked up a team-leading 41 blocks at a 1.21 per set ratio, third-highest in the SEC. She has notched five or more stuffs on four occasions, including two of her last three outings.
Sam Delahoussaye notched double figure digs during the Alabama and South Carolina matches last weekend filling in for Meghan Mannari at the libero position. She had previously played only one set as LSU’s libero which came in 2010.
“The steps Sam took from Friday to Sunday in the libero role were impressive,” Flory said. “She played with a different level of confidence over the serving patterns, and she made great plays. I said before Friday’s match that if there was a time this had to happen it was now because Sam was playing with such a great deal of confidence. I am very thankful she is playing with that confidence, and she will be a key for us until Meghan gets back.”
Live video and live stats for Friday’s match will be available inside the Geaux Zone at LSUsports.net/live.
Friday is the first of four SEC Meal Deal matches. For only $7, LSU concessions will provide a special dinner starting at 6 p.m. inside the Courtside Club which is located at the Northwest Corridor entrance of the arena.
Fans can reserve their meals in advance by emailing kobrien@lsu.edu or by contacting Katie at (225) 578-5050 with the quantity of meals and names. The meals also will be available to walk-up customers on match day, but on a cash-only basis while supplies last.
At every home match, LSU will be collecting pet supplies at the fan zone as part of its “PAWS in the PMAC” campaign to benefit the Capital Area Animal Welfare Society.
Dating back to the 2005 season, LSU has racked up a 163-62 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.