The LSU volleyball team must have crossed too many black cats, spilled salt and broken mirrors over the summer based on the bad luck it has had this season.
Not a single month goes by without a starter seeking medical attention thus far. First, junior middle blocker Khourtni Fears’ comeback from a torn ACL in her left knee ended before it even started, as she tore her ACL and MCL in her right knee two days before the season opener.
Then, freshman middle blocker Toni Rodriguez, who redshirted last year and developed into an important starter this season, tore her right ACL while getting extra reps during practice Oct. 24, the day before LSU’s home matchup against the Auburn University.
In the most recent case, senior outside hitter Cati Leak dislocated her ankle and broke all three bones less than 11 minutes before the Tigers’ away game against then-No. 20 University of Kentucky, according to The Advertiser-Gleam. The injury marked the end of her LSU volleyball career.
While Fears, Rodriguez and Leak’s contributions will be limited to vocal support on the sideline, the team remains optimistic.
“We are now going to be the underdog in most matches and have the opportunity to go in and ruin people’s seasons,” said freshman middle blocker Brittany Welsh. “We have also become even closer. No one else knows what we’re going through.”
Every injury was a surprise for LSU coach Fran Flory, but Leak’s brought the biggest loss. The former All-SEC player just became the sixth player in school history to record 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs and provided important stability on the court.
“We lost a great deal of leadership and experience,” Flory said. “At one point last night [against the University of Missouri], we had three freshmen in the front row, with [freshman defensive specialist] Katie Kampen, Brittany Welsh and [freshman setter] Lindsay Flory all blocking at the same time. The good thing is we get great experience for the future, the hard thing right now is that kids are having to grow up faster than they probably need or want to.”
The team lost much of its offensive rhythm with Leak being one of their go-to outside hitters. Flory said she feels forced to make changes and experiment by putting players in positions they normally are not used to playing.
In their most recent home game against Missouri, Fran moved junior middle blocker Tiara Gibson to the right and let Kampen hit on the outside.
“I think that these guys have a mentality that they going to be true to each other, true to the program and true to the staff,” Fran said. “We all appreciate that. It’s an unfortunate circumstance to be in this situation, but we have a job to do and we’re going to do it.”
The underclassmen said it’s easy to welcome added pressure with open arms when playing with such resilient and supportive teammates and are ready for the increased playing time.
“They have dealt with this adversity really, really well and I’m super proud of them,” Fran said. “There are many teams that — specifically in the Kentucky match — would’ve shut down and not given any effort. The fact that we had already overcome so much adversity over the season makes it just another unfortunate step for them. I’m super, super proud of how they responded.”