The LSU volleyball team will take on No. 24 Michigan on Friday night at the Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle, Wash., in its first-round matchup of the 2013 NCAA Championship Tournament.
The Tigers (18-12, 8-10 Southeastern Conference) are making their seventh appearance in the tournament in the last nine years but haven’t faced Michigan since a four-set loss in Ann Arbor, Mich. in 1998. LSU sports a 1-2 all-time record against the Wolverines.
Head coach Fran Flory said that her team has worked hard all season to give themselves the opportunity to compete in the NCAA Tournament and they are looking forward to the unpredictability that comes with the tournament.
“When you get to postseason it’s really the start of a new season,” Flory said. “I think this group is going to be driven to win once we get there.”
But simply getting to the tournament is not enough for this year’s squad.
Upon hearing the news of their qualification, the team immediately requested information on Michigan’s style of play to begin preparation, Flory said.
“We weren’t just celebrating the fact that we were in there,” she said. “We were embracing the fact that we’re playing Michigan in the first round.”
This will be most of the athlete’s first taste of postseason action. Senior middle blocker Desiree Elliott and junior defensive specialist Laura Whalen are the only two Tigers who have played in the tournament before.
Junior setter Malorie Pardo said the team paid special attention to achieving this goal and put in extra work since last spring to make sure they would get there.
“It means a lot, this is my first year to go,” Pardo said. “I’m excited to see where this takes us.”
LSU is not planning to change very much about their style despite facing its first non-SEC opponent since Sept. 21, she said.
“I think we’re at our peak,” Pardo said. “It’s been a roller coaster season, but I think that’s what makes us such a great team. We’ve been through everything a team can imagine which is going to help us in the tournament.”