BATON ROUGE, La. – The LSU volleyball team travels this week to take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs at 6 p.m. Wednesday and the Alabama Crimson Tide on Friday at 7 p.m. in the team’s final two matches of the season.
Both matches will be streamed live on SEC Network+, which is available through WatchESPN for desktops, mobile phones, tablets and streaming devices, with a link to the stream as well as live stats provided on LSUsports.net. Fans unable to watch will be able to get continuous updates through the team’s social media pages on Facebook and Twitter.
LSU goes into the match with a 9-18 overall record and a 5-11 mark in SEC games, squaring off first with the Bulldogs who are 15-15 overall and 4-12, while Alabama is 16-14 and 10-6. MSU is coming off of a win over Georgia on Sunday, while Alabama has won each of its last three matches and is currently fifth in the league standings.
The Tigers dropped its home finale on Sunday, falling in three sets to the Kentucky Wildcats in the Maravich Center. It was LSU’s second ranked opponent of the weekend, as LSU staved off defeat late in the third set, pushing the finale to extra points before falling 27-25.
Sophomore Gina Tillis led all players on the night with 17 kills, hitting .220 in the match with six digs, a block and an assist. Tillis leads the team in total kills (265) and kills per set (3.49), as she has led the team in kills 12 times this season which ties the team lead.
The only other LSU player with double-digit kills in the match was Mimi Eugene, earning 10 against the Wildcats with four digs and an assist. It was Eugene’s fifth double figure kill match of the season, earning four of those in the last eight matches, adding three double-doubles on the year as well.
For the first time all season, Lindsay Flory and Cheyenne Wood tied for the team lead in assists, as each served up 14 on Sunday. Wood, who is second on the team in double-doubles with eight, leads the setters averaging 5.38 assists per set, while Flory is second averaging 4.03 assists per set and is sixth on the team in blocks with 37, two away from jumping into the top five as she’s earned at least two blocks in 13 matches this year.
Haley Smith continues to lead the team in digs as she is averaging 4.46 per set, with 446 to her credit this year. Katie Lindelow is second on the team averaging 2.71 with 260 on the year, as the two tied for the team lead in the match with 10 on Sunday. It was the second time this season that the senior pair has notched that feat, doing so before being honored with their fellow seniors in Emily Ehrle and Cati Leak after the match Sunday.
Starting each of the last 20 matches for the Tigers in her first season, Olivia Beyer leads the team in blocks with 62 on the season, averaging 1.03 per set this year. Beyer has five matches this year with five or more blocks, including having two matches with eight. Ehrle is second among the blockers with 55, averaging 0.66 per set.
LSU will be looking to earn the season sweep of Mississippi State on Wednesday after winning the first meeting between the two teams back in October by virtue of a sweep, while the Tigers will be looking to snap a two-match losing skid to Alabama after dropping a close contest in five sets at home also back in October.
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 – Mississippi State/Alabama
MATCHES
LSU (9-18, 5-11 SEC) at Mississippi State (15-15, 4-12 SEC)
LSU (9-18, 5-11 SEC) at Alabama (16-14, 10-6 SEC)
DATE/TIME
Nov. 25 – 6 p.m. CT
Nov. 27 – 7 p.m. CT
FACILITY
Newell-Grissom Building (MSU)
Foster Auditorium (UA)
AVCA RANKINGS
LSU – NR
Mississippi State – NR
Alabama – NR
MULTIMEDIA
LSUsports.net – live stats
LIVE STREAM
SEC Network+
TV
None