BATON ROUGE – The LSU volleyball team (5-5) returns to the court to open Southeastern Conference play against Auburn (6-7) at 7 p.m. CT Friday inside Auburn Arena.
Friday’s match will be aired on SEC Network+ through WatchESPN.com and the app with Brit Bowen and April Zech on the call.
Fran’s Final Thoughts
“We are looking forward to starting a new season with conference play on Friday. It’s important for us to bounce back from the last two matches. We have to continue to play hard and play balanced on offense and defense.
Last Time Out
LSU dropped Sunday’s match to No. 13 Florida State in three sets. Although the Tigers led the Seminoles in kills and digs, LSU hurt itself with 26 attacking errors and eight service errors. LSU limited FSU to just 31 kills but was outblocked 11-2.
A Look at Auburn
The Tigers are coming off of a 1-2 weekend in Ann Arbor at the Michigan Challenge with a win over Colgate. Brenna Mcllroy leads the way for Auburn with 158 kills and a .172 hitting percentage. Alexa Filley ranks eighth in the league in assists with 481 at 9.62 assists per set.
Team Notes
>> Freshman Anna Zwiebel has stepped in as the squad’s setter and owns 348 assists at 9.16 assists per set. Zwiebel owns three double-doubles on the season and 10 service aces to lead the team.
>> OH Gina Tillis leads the squad in kills with 136 and an average of 3.32 kills per set. Tillis has 153.5 points at a clip of 3.74 per set for 12th in the conference. The junior also owns five double-doubles in 13 matches.
>> MB Tiara Gibson is second on the team in kills at 93 and owns a .306 hitting percentage. Gibson also leads the team in blocks at 38 overall.
>> MB Khourtni Fears has made a strong return to the court. Fears is fourth on the team in kills at 66 and a strong .346 hitting percentage. Fears has committed just 19 errors on the season in 30 sets. The junior is second on the team in blocks at 30.
>> LSU is looking to end a four-match losing streak in SEC season openers. Prior to the skid, the Tigers had won seven of their last eight SEC openers.
Follow LSU Volleyball
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.