KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The LSU volleyball team closes a two-match SEC road stretch on Sunday afternoon in Lexington, taking on the No. 20 Kentucky Wildcats at 12:30 p.m. inside Memorial Coliseum.
The match will be streamed live online through SEC Network+, available through WatchESPN. Links to live stats and video will be available at LSUsports.net, with match updates through the team’s social media pages on Facebook and Twitter.
LSU heads into the match looking to bounce back after a straight-sets loss to the Tennessee Volunteers on Friday night in Knoxville, dropping the team’s record to 9-12 overall and 5-5 in the Southeastern Conference. The team has lost its last three road matches in league play with five more remaining between now and the end of the season.
Looking to turn their fortunes around, the Tigers will aim to have a better offensive night than it had against the Vols, hitting just .114 in the match with 35 kills and 20 errors on 132 swings. While the team finished with double figure digs in each of the three sets, LSU would be unable to match the pace of Tennessee, who committed just 16 attacking errors and kept its serving errors to a minimal four to LSU’s nine.
Leading the way offensively was a tandem of players in Cati Leak and Gina Tillis, as the duo combined for 22 of LSU’s 35 kills in the match. Leak earned her 11th double-double of the season in the win, combining those kills with 11 digs, leading the team with 261 kills and a .183 hitting percentage. Tillis nearly had a double-double of her own with nine digs, as the sophomore leads the team in kills per set averaging 3.34.
Now in second place behind Leak in double-doubles is setter Cheyenne Wood, who earned her seventh of the year as she finished with 15 assists and 10 digs in the match, as the sophomore has had double-figure assists matches in all but one match this season and is averaging 5.52 per set. Lindsay Flory earned 14 against UT and is averaging 3.96 per set, while sitting fifth on the team in blocks with 31 for a 0.43 average.
Leading the team at the net is senior middle Emily Ehrle, who has 50 on the season with an also team-leading 13 on the solo end. Ehrle is averaging 0.50, while freshman Olivia Beyer is at 1.09, as she is second on the team in the category with 48, as LSU finished tied in blocks with the Vols in the match with five on each side.
Tying for the match lead in digs was senior Haley Smith, who had 15 while also adding two assists. The Chalmette, Louisiana, native is currently in the top five in the league in digs per set, averaging 4.51 per set with 361. Leak is second on the team in digs averaging 2.95 with 242 total and Katie Lindelow third with 220 for a 2.89 average.
LSU will be looking for the same magic it had the last time the two sides met in Lexington, defeating the Wildcats in a five-set thriller in Memorial Coliseum to earn the team’s first win over a ranked opponent on the road in four seasons up until that point. The win helped snap a three-match losing skid against Kentucky, as the two sides will meet twice over the course of the next 20 days with the final contest serving as the final home match of the year for LSU on November 22 in Baton Rouge.
The Wildcats are coming off of a four-set loss to Texas A&M at home on Friday, falling to 15-7 overall and 8-2 in the league. While Kentucky is currently leading the league, they only sit a game ahead of Missouri and the Aggies who are both right behind in second place at 7-2. UK is 7-3 at home this season, with two of those losses coming in league play.
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 and @lsuvb on Instagram.
AT A GLANCE – Kentucky
MATCH
LSU (9-12, 5-5 SEC) at Kentucky (15-7, 8-2 SEC)
DATE/TIME
Nov. 1 – 12:30 p.m. CT
FACILITY
Memorial Coliseum
AVCA RANKINGS
LSU – NR
Kentucky – 20
MULTIMEDIA
LSUsports.net – live stats
LIVE STREAM
SEC Network+
TV
None