COLUMBIA, SC. – Fresh off a week and a half break from competition, the LSU volleyball team (7-13, 2-7 SEC) will begin its second part of conference play against South Carolina (14-6, 2-6 SEC) at 6 p.m. CT Friday at the Carolina Volleyball Center.
The matchup between the Gamecocks and Tigers will be streamed live on SEC Network+ through watchespn.com and the app. The two teams faced off in Baton Rouge just a week and a half ago with the Gamecocks earning a 3-1 win in the Maravich Center.
Flory’s Thoughts
“We’ve had a really good week and a half away off from competition to get back in the gym and get prepared for the final part of our season,” head coach Fran Flory said. “We are hopeful that we can clean up the ball control part of our game. That is something that we have really worked on during our break. South Carolina is an athletic team and very, and I think it’s going to be a great matchup.”
Last Time Out
LSU was swept on the road at Missouri after hitting .000 in three sets with 27 attacking errors and kills. Senior Tiara Gibson was the lone Tiger in double digits with 13 kills. Sophomore Lindsay Flory was inserted into the lineup at setter in the second set. Flory finished with 14 assists on the night.
A Look at South Carolina
The Gamecocks are 2-6 in conference play this season and have lost five of their last six matches with the only win coming against LSU. The Gamecocks have won eight total sets in conference play this season. The squad is 7-2 at home in the Carolina Volleyball Center with one of those coming in conference. USC is led by Mikayla Shields with 207 kills at 2.96 per set and a .327 hitting percentage. Shields is one of four players on the squad with more than 100 kills on the season.
Team Notes
>> This season, the Tigers are 3-3 in road matches and 2-2 in road conference matches. All seven wins for LSU this season have come on the road.
>> LSU has hit less than .249 in 15 matches this season. The squad is 5-0 when hitting greater than .250 as a team.
>> Junior Gina Tillis has led the way for the team through the season in kills with 234 and is second with 204 digs. In her career, Tillis has amassed 728 kills and 406 digs.
>> Gibson owns a start in every match this season and has played in all but one set for the Tigers. Gibson has more than doubled her kills output from her opening season with 174. The South Dakota native also owns a team-best 60 blocks.
>> Freshman Anna Zwiebel has 603 assists for the Tigers this season along with 15 service aces and 158 digs.
> Junior Cheyenne Wood is LSU’s libero and leads the way with 289 digs at 3.96 digs per set. Wood works with Kelly Quinn and Katie Kampen defensively for the Tigers with Quinn holding a spot in the starting lineup in the last 10 matches.
>> LSU leads the all-time series over USC, 24-15.
>> The Tigers have won 12 of the last 14 match ups between the two squads. The last loss to South Carolina came in Columbia in 2012, 3-2. Seven of LSU’s 12 wins have come in straight set.
Follow LSU Volleyball
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