BATON ROUGE – The LSU volleyball team will conclude its brief homestand and begin a new SEC rivalry Sunday when Missouri visits the Maravich Center.
First serve is set for 1 p.m. and admission to all 2012 home matches is free compliments of the Advocate’s “Geaux Free” program. Gates open to the public one hour prior to first serve, and the first 750 fans will receive a set of 2012 LSU volleyball trading cards.
LSU (5-7, 1-2 SEC) will look to build on its five-set victory over Kentucky, while Missouri (10-3, 2-1 SEC) was swept by No. 13 Florida on Friday. LSU has won both previous meetings in the all-time series over Missouri, but the two teams haven’t met since the 1985 season.
MU’s Lisa Henning has belted 194 kills and her 4.41 per set average ranks second on the SEC leaderboard. She has already taken 490 swings in Missouri’s 44 set played. In the middle, Whitney Little has posted 2.57 kills per set and connected for the SEC’s second-best hitting percentage at a .432 clip. She also has totaled an SEC-best 1.36 blocks per set.
“We don’t know a ton about Missouri,” head coach Fran Flory said. “We have film and certainly we’ve studied them. Against the other SEC teams, we have history, we have knowledge and we know what we are about against. They have some great players. Henning on the right side is one of the best players in the league. We are going to have to contain her, and we will have to have a very balanced attack with physical middles. They are a little taller and may be a little stronger than we are. We will have to play a fast style to be successful.”
LSU’s offense has compiled a .239 hitting percentage in its five wins compared to a .121 clip during its seven setbacks. Malorie Pardo has notched consecutive double-doubles, most notably a career-high 60 assists and 13 digs versus Kentucky last time out. She fueled the Tigers to 12 kills and a blistering .367 hitting ratio in the deciding fifth set.
Desiree Elliott has powered home 15 or more kills and registered over a .300 attack percentage in three of her last four outings. Her 3.41 kills and 0.85 blocks per set are ranked 10th and 15th, respectively, in the SEC. Madie Jones has ripped double figure kills in all five of LSU’s wins and her 3.05 kills per set average are 16th in the SEC rankings.
Last time out, Helen Boyle continued her recent strong play and matched a career-high 18 kills to go along with 12 digs against Kentucky. It was Boyle’s first double dip of 2012.
Sam Delahoussaye and Haley Smith spark LSU’s back row. The duo exploded for career-best dig performances and converted on all 37 of their reception attempts during the Kentucky match. Delahoussaye totaled seven of her 25 digs in the fifth set, while Smith tallied 11 of her 18 scoops over the final two stanzas.
Sunday’s match will have live video and live stats available in the Geaux Zone at LSUsports.net/live. Fans can also follow the program on its social media outlets at www.Facebook.com/lsuvolleyball along with @lsuvolleyball and @lsucoachfran on Twitter.
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 164-62 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.