BATON ROUGE – The SEC unveiled the Spring portion of the volleyball schedule which will give teams the opportunity to compete for a NCAA Championship come April. LSU is slated to play 16 matches against eight teams.
The Spring portion of the schedule will be similar to the Fall schedule in that teams will play the same opponent in back-to-back days. The schedule will run from the last weekend in January to the first weekend of April with hopes of an NCAA Tournament throughout April.
Television and start times will be announced at a later date.
The Tigers were 3-3 in the Spring with their matches against Ole Miss being cancelled. The records and stats from the Fall will transfer over to the Spring. The SEC is still working to re-schedule the two matches LSU and Ole Miss missed in the Fall against each other.
Taylor Bannister currently leads the SEC with 4.70 kills per set (2nd in the NCAA for players who have competed in at least 10 sets) and leads the NCAA for players who have competed in at least 10 sets with 0.61 aces per set. Bannister was the beneficiary of many of Karli Rose’s sets who averaged 9.48 assists per set, the seventh highest mark in the SEC.
LSU’s defense has shined with the second most digs in the league, averaging 1.65, just below Arkansas. The Tigers were able to limit opponents to hitting just .204 against them in the Fall for the fourth lowest opponent hitting percentage in the Fall.
LSU will begin the Spring on the road at Missouri (6-2) January 29 and 30 before hosting its first Spring matches against winless Auburn (0-8) February 4 and 5.
The Tigers will hit the road the following week to Gainesville for February 10 and 11 matchups against the Florida Gators. On February 18 and 19 LSU will host Arkansas (6-2) in the PMAC.
The bye week will come before the Tigers hit the road for matches against the SEC leading Kentucky Wildcats (8-0) on March 5 and 6.
LSU will be at home for the next two weeks, starting on March 13 and 14 to face off against South Carolina (5-3), followed by Georgia (4-4) on March 19 and 20. The Tigers will finish the season in Knoxville against Tennessee (4-4) on March 24 and 25.
The week of March 29-April 3 will be reserved as a make-up week for the league should any matches need to be shuffled.