When the LSU volleyball team takes on Missouri tonight, it will be playing its first game after a loss since Oct. 5.
The Tigers saw their 11-game winning streak snapped in five sets last Sunday at Mississippi State. LSU (16-8, 11-4 Southeastern Conference) had already beaten Mississippi State during the streak.
Junior defensive specialist Haley Smith said the Tigers weren’t mentally ready to play against the Bulldogs. LSU also beat Missouri (16-14, 7-8 SEC) during the streak, but Smith said after last weekend’s loss, the Tigers won’t be overlooking anybody.
“Last Sunday was a big mental statement,” Smith said. “We weren’t where we wanted to be [mentally], obviously with that loss to Mississippi State. So this week, we’re just preparing to be mentally ready and not overlook anybody.”
Smith said instead of dwelling on the loss, the Tigers moved on quickly and hope the ‘hiccup’ will push them to be better going forward.
LSU coach Fran Flory attributed part of the loss to LSU’s many injuries during the weekend. Multiple Tigers suffered minor injuries, but Flory said they’re all ready to go for this weekend and attrition is typical at this point in the season.
“Everybody’s back and we should all be good to go,” Flory said. “I think every team is like that right now. We’ve just got to toughen it out mentally and physically gut it out to the end.”
Four Tigers will also have to be emotionally strong this weekend. Friday’s match against Missouri is senior night, and Sunday’s match against Auburn (12-15, 4-10 SEC) will be their last career home game.
Outside hitter Helen Boyle, middle blocker Madi Mahaffey, setter Malorie Pardo and defensive specialist Laura Whalen have helped the Tigers to 66 wins, an SEC Western Division championship and NCAA Tournament Regional win during their careers.
Mahaffey said she and her fellow seniors will play with extra motivation this weekend.
“It’s exciting, but it is bittersweet,” Mahaffey said. “I think it’s going to be really emotional … You’ve got to play especially hard on your senior night. Also, it’s our home court and you always want to defend your home-court, and I always want to go out with a win.”
LSU’s matchup against Missouri is an important one for Boyle because she is a native of Eureka, Missouri. But Flory said she’s sure her seniors are more focused on getting into the NCAA tournament than securing a win on senior night.
“I think this team has a bigger vision, and now that we’ve had this stumbling block, they know we have to win out to advance and that’s the goal,” Flory said. “I think if you ask the seniors on the importance of winning on senior night versus winning to have a chance to continue playing a couple of matches longer, I think they would prefer to play a couple matches longer because they aren’t ready for it to be over.”