The LSU volleyball team (3-0) is looking to build on their best start since 2010 with a successful visit to Houston at the Rice Invitational this weekend.
The Lady Tigers will face off with Arkansas-Little Rock, Texas A&M Corpus Christi and Rice at the competition.
LSU is coming off a promising opening weekend as they collected four-set victories over UT-San Antonio and UC Davis last weekend. Senior Desiree Elliott, sophomore Cati Leak and junior Malorie Pardo were honored with Tiger Classic All-Tournament distinction as they lead the team to their perfect start.
“We were very aggressive serving this past weekend,” said coach Fran Flory in a news release. “We will have to maintain that.”
The most important thing for the team in the early stage of the season is crafting their identity, Flory said. When facing lesser programs the team is focusing on their game and not playing down to the competition.
“Our first contact has to be great,” Flory said. “We can’t give the other team points. Those would be the keys that I’d expect us to carry on that we did a great job last weekend.”
Arkansas-Little Rock features a lot of international talent on their squad. The Trojans boast three players from Bosnia in junior Edina Begic, junior Adisa Hodzic and sophomore Sonja Milanovic that bring a contrast to the style traditionally employed in the states.
“In Europe, volleyball is played a little differently,” Flory said. “It is not as much of a physical sport as much as it is a finesse and flow sport.”
Flory pointed to LSU’s international tour this summer as a vital experience that should provide the Lady Tigers with the tools necessary to combat the difference in style.
The matchup should be a good test for the team as Flory pointed to a lack of understanding of rhythm and flow being an area that needs improvement from last season.
The team will face off with Arkansas-Little Rock on Friday at 4 p.m., Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Saturday at 10 a.m. and Rice on Saturday at 7 p.m.
“We were very aggressive serving this past weekend, we will have to maintain that.”