BATON ROUGE, La. – The LSU volleyball team opens its SEC schedule on the road as they challenge No. 22 Kentucky at 6 p.m. CT on Friday, Sept. 22, inside Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky., on SEC Network +.
For the second consecutive season, LSU (5-5) will play Kentucky (2-6) as its SEC home opening opponent. Fans can listen to Dick Gabriel and Leah Edmond’s call on Friday night on SEC Network + in what will be the 73rd meeting between the Tigers and the Wildcats. Last season, the Tigers upset then No. 15 Kentucky in five sets on Sept. 24, 2022, and went on to split the season series. Overall, LSU trails UK in the all-time series 25-47.
LSU concluded its non-conference schedule with a 2-1 weekend at the SMU Invitational that featured two sweeps for the Tigers and two players selected to the SMU Invitational All-Tournament team in outside hitter Jurnee Robinson and middle blocker Anita Anwusi. As a unit, LSU has compiled a .262 hitting percentage behind 13.19 kills per set on 12.35 assists per set. The Tigers have also tallied 1.54 aces, 1.73 blocks and 13.03 digs per set.
Robinson paces LSU with 4.30 kills per set (159 total) and 4.74 points per set, which ranks No. 2 and No. 4 in the SEC and No. 19 and No. 32 in the NCAA, respectively. Robinson has the second-highest average in kills per set among freshman NCAA Division I volleyball players and has totaled three matches with 20 or more kills this season in addition to 19 blocks and five aces.
Middle blocker Anita Anwusi ranks No. 3 in the SEC and No. 28 in the NCAA with a .423 hitting percentage. Anwusi has 82 total kills this season and leads the Tigers with 25 total blocks.
Right side Jade Demps is a solid all-around player for the Tigers this season. Demps has registered 2.62 kills per set (97 total) and contributes 17 blocks, eight aces and averages 2.43 digs per set (90 total). Setter Maddie Waak is ranked No. 8 in the SEC with 9.84 assists per set and has a team-high 13 aces this season. Libero Erin Carmichael anchors the defense with 2.80 digs per set (98 total) and has 11 aces this season. Carmicheal currently sits at No. 23 among NCAA Division I volleyball players active career leaders with 1,570 total digs.
Season tickets for the 2023 LSU volleyball season are now available and can be purchased here. Directly support LSU Volleyball by contributing to the Volleyball Excellence Fund today!
For the latest news and information on Tiger volleyball, visit www.lsusports.net/volleyball. Fans can follow the team on its social media outlets at www.facebook.com/lsuvolleyball and @lsuvolleyball on Instagram and X.