In part three of our series previewing the 2015 LSU volleyball team, we take a look at the setters and defensive specialists.
The main engine that drives the offense will have a new face for the first time in four years after the graduation of Malorie Pardo last season, leaving the keys in part to sophomore Elly Ogle who saw some time last season in certain spots. She will be joined along with freshman Lindsay Flory and Cheyenne Wood as the primary servers this season.
Ogle played in 12 matches in her inaugural campaign at LSU, seeing action in 17 total sets as a freshman in 2014, serving up 27 assists on the year, averaging 1.59 per set. Her best game came on the road as she served up a season-high 11 assists and had six digs against Alabama.
“Elly had a tremendous spring and she’s going to be a great leader for us,” head coach Fran Flory said. “She’s fearless, and I think that having that type of presence at the setter position is something that is going to be very valuable to our team and shows that she’s capable of running our offense the way it needs to be run.”
Wood played in 18 matches in her first season in Purple and Gold, making three starts with 56 total sets played, earning 3 digs on the season, averaging 1.12 digs per set, while serving up 10 assists and three service aces. One of her best games of the season came when she earned double figure digs for the first time with 10 against Arkansas and two assists, while playing all five sets in the win at Kentucky, with four digs and an assist.
“Cheyenne probably has the best location as a setter on the team,” Flory said. “She’s also a good defender, so she’ll play behind Elly and we’ll use her in a variety of ways as well as on the serve.”
The final piece has spent most of her life in and around the program in Lindsay Flory, as she joins the team after a stellar four-year career at U-High. Led the U-High Cubs to a 133-34 overall mark during her prep tenure, an average of at least 33 wins per season, being named the Nola.com-Times Picayune All-Baton Rouge Area Small Schools Volleyball Player of the Year as well as the newspaper’s preseason player of the year pick as a junior and senior.
“Lindsay adds depth and is another setter with size if something happens to Elly,” Fran Flory said. “She’s put in a lot of time this summer and has worked really hard to take her game to the next level.”
Defensive Specialists
The back row is fortified by the return of Haley Smith for her final season as a senior, bolstered by the return as well of Kelly Quinn, Wood and the addition and position switch of incoming freshman Katie Kampen.
A walk-on that joined the team without a scholarship and has played her way into an instrumental and vocal leadership role on the team has paid off for the Chalmette product, as Smith is just 404 digs shy of becoming the all-time leader in LSU volleyball history with over 1,100 to her credit in really two seasons of true action. She became the first player since Elena Martinez to earn back-to-back seasons with more than 500 digs, earning a team-leading 514 on the season and averaging 4.43 per set in 2014, while becoming the 11th player to earn at least 1,000 digs in a career.
Still, the competition for that different colored jersey is strong, with many stepping up to be the one to lead the last line of defense for the Tigers.
“Most would assume that Haley would start in that position but we’ve had a lot of spirited practices for that spot during much of the spring and the summer,” Flory said.
Two of those players happen to be Cheyenne Wood and Kelly Quinn, with Quinn playing in 25 of the team’s 29 matches in her first season as a Tiger, playing in 55 total sets in a reserve role. Hailing from The Woodlands, Quinn was a go-to server for the team in spots last year and over the course of the offseason joined the conversation for that libero role.
“Kelly really made some great strides defensively and is going to have a great run at that position,” Flory said. “Serving is a huge key and she is our most consistent and accurate server and that adds value to her being on the court.”
Coming in as one of the top players in the state in any category, Kampen joins the Tigers with a bit of a position switch. Although she could still see time as an attacker, the staff has taken note of her passing ability and has moved her into more of a defensive role potentially going forward. It’s hard to overlook the numbers, however, that made her the two-time Louisiana Gatorade Volleyball Player of the Year and Miss Volleyball for the state after producing 1,983 kills, 1,501 digs, 186 service aces and 288 blocks, with a career hitting percentage of .469.
“Katie is a natural passer, and it might take a little time for her to get used to the pace of the game but that’s not a problem because she will get there,” Flory said. “She hasn’t questioned anything we’ve asked her to do and those are the type of players who are successful because they understand how that helps the team reach their goals overall.”