by Matt Dunaway, Associate Sports Information Director
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The No. 19 LSU volleyball team embarks on the second leg of a four-match road swing Friday at No 10. Florida. The Gators are the fifth Top 10 opponent that LSU has faced this season. First serve is slated for 6 p.m. CT at the O’Connell Center.
LSU (20-5, 14-2 SEC) has won 13 of its last 14 matches, including a string of five straight. Florida (20-3, 14-2 SEC) hasn’t lost a set over its last eight appearances since dropping a 3-0 decision in Baton Rouge back on Oct. 11. The two teams enter the match tied for second place and are a half-match behind Kentucky in the overall SEC standings.
“Friday night in the O’Connell Center is a tough match for any team,” head coach Fran Flory said. “We’re hopeful that our preparation from this week will have us ready for the match. It couldn’t be a better opportunity for our team and I think it’s going to be a great volleyball match.”
The LSU offense is led by Brittnee Cooper and Marina Skender, who both rank inside the SEC Top 10 in kills per set. Cooper has racked up 61 kills on a .458 hitting percentage over her last four matches. Her 1.39 blocks per set along with her .381 overall hitting clip paces the SEC and also ranks inside the NCAA Top 20.
Skender has recorded double-digit kills in 21 of 25 matches this season and powered home 17 kills on a season-best .556 hitting percentage at Ole Miss. She has compiled double-doubles in five of her last six outings. Her 3.82 kills per game in league matches rank third in the SEC.
Lauren DeGirolamo and Michele Williams joined Cooper as LSU’s middle attack combined to crush 38 kills on a scorching .567 hitting percentage in the Tigers 3-0 sweep of Florida earlier this season.
DeGirolamo has reeled in seven or more digs in 18 of 25 matches this season highlighted by a quartet of 16-dig performances, while her 1.18 blocks per set in conference matches rank third in the SEC. Williams has slapped 47 of her 122 SEC kills over her last six matches and provided at least five blocks in eight of her last 13 outings.
Sam Dabbs ranks second in the SEC and has passed out 11.01 assists per frame. She has set the Tigers to over a .300 team hitting percentage 11 times this season, including an impressive .333 effort against Florida that led to Dabbs selection as AVCA National Player of the Week. She circulated 49 assists versus the Gators, a SEC record for a three-set match this season.
Lauren Waclawczyk and Sam Delahoussaye have combined for 27 double-figure dig efforts. Waclawczyk has reached that feat in 12 of her 16 SEC showings, while Delahoussaye has totaled a perfect reception percentage in nine of her last 14 matches.
“We’re going to have to win the serve-and-pass battle to be successful,” Flory said. “Florida has really ramped up that part of their game up lately and we’re going to have to match that to stay on the court with them.”
Florida is headlined by Kelly Murphy, who has connected for a league-best .423 hitting percentage in conference matches. She is joined by Kristy Jaeckel and Colleen Ward as the trio hold spots eight, ninth and 10th in the SEC kills per set ranks.
Cassandra Anderson sparks the Gator defense and ranks second in the SEC in blocks per set with 1.24, while Elyse Cusack is fourth in the SEC with 4.32 digs per frame.
“We served Florida extremely well and took them out of their offense in the first meeting,” Flory said. “We also limited [Kelly] Murphy’s touches. She’s such a tremendous player and you have to control her because she can take over a match.”
Live stats for the Florida match will be available on LSUsports.net. The match also will be televised by Fox Sports Net Florida, but will not be available in the Baton Rouge area. Fans can follow in-match updates of the five-time SEC Western Division champions via www.twitter.com/lsuvolleyball.
