by Matt Dunaway, Associate Sports Information Director
BATON ROUGE – The No. 17 LSU volleyball team returns home to open its final weekend of SEC action Friday against Mississippi State. First serve is on-tap for 7 p.m. inside the Maravich Center.
The Tigers (22-5, 16-2 SEC) are riding a seven-match winning streak and emerged victorious in 15 of their last 16 matches. LSU enters Friday’s action in sole possession of second place in the overall SEC standings and a half-match behind Kentucky.
“We know these last two matches are going to be the determining factor on whether we have a chance to be SEC regular season champs,” head coach Fran Flory said. “We need a little help and know that all that we can do is take care of business on our home court this weekend.”
A big part of LSU’s success can attributed to its senior class of Brittnee Cooper, Sam Dabbs, Lauren DeGirolamo and Marina Skender. The quartet has accounted for 66.7 percent of the Tigers kills, 63.7 percent of LSU’s blocks and 47.0 percent of team’s digs.
Skender and Cooper rank six and seventh in the SEC with 3.43 and 3.42 kills per set, respectively. Skender has tallied a double-double in six of her last seven outings and raised her average to 3.88 kills per set in SEC matches to rank fourth.
Cooper continues to headline the SEC with a .388 hitting percentage and has recorded 1.31 blocks per set. She has cranked 83 kills over her last six matches and racked up at least 15 spikes on 10 occasions this season.
Dabbs has dished out 11.05 assists per set and ranks second in the SEC. She has fueled four Tigers to at least 1.75 kills per set and set LSU to over a .300 team hitting percentage 12 times in 2009.
DeGirolamo has been a key contributor to all six rotations especially on defense. She has chipped in 1.12 blocks per set in conference matches, good enough for eighth in the SEC and corralled double-digit digs in five of her last eight outings.
“We need to maintain our offensive balance and need to continue to be efficient,” Flory said. “We’ve been a little bit of a rollercoaster and I thought we took steps to maintain that last weekend. Our blocking had a great run in the middle of the season and we’ve focused on stopping the ball at the net in practice this week.”
Michele Williams has belted 59 of her 134 kills in SEC play over her last eight matches. She also is the reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Week and has provided at least five blocks in 10 of her last 15 matches.
Angela Bensend has powered home over a .400 hitting clip in seven SEC matches and LSU has compiled an impressive 14-1 mark when she reaches double-digit kills over the last three seasons.
Lauren Waclawczyk has reached double-figure digs in nine of her 12 outings and reeled in at least 15 digs on 10 occasions this season. Her 3.52 digs and 0.25 aces per set both rank 10th in the SEC.
Sam Delahoussaye has added 11 double-digit dig efforts and totaled a perfect reception percentage in five of her last nine matches.
Mississippi State (8-21, 4-14 SEC) notched a pair of 3-1 home victories over Arkansas and Ole Miss last weekend. Ashley Newsome paces the Bulldogs with 306 kills and added 110 blocks, including a SEC-high 23 solo stuffs. Kayla Woodard is fourth in the SEC and reels in 4.39 digs per set.
“Their first year coach Jenny Hazelwood has instilled passion in their program,” Flory said. “They have got progressively better throughout the season. I think Newsome in the middle is a force to be reckoned with. Their best volleyball is still ahead of them and we’re going to have to be very prepared for them.”
Live video and live stats for the Mississippi State match are available in the Geaux Zone on LSUsports.net. Fans also can follow in-match updates of the five-time SEC Western Division champions via www.twitter.com/lsuvolleyball.
Tickets are now on-sale at www.LSUSports.net/tickets, the official Web site of LSU Athletics. Tickets also can be purchased at the ticket office on the first floor of the Athletics Administration Building or by calling (225) 578-2184. LSU students, faculty and staff are admitted free with a valid LSU ID.
LSU volleyball is offering the Friends and Family Pass where fans receive four tickets, four hot dogs and four drinks for only $20.
