The LSU volleyball team looks to build on its winning record in the Southeastern Conference against Mississippi State University (13-6, 3-3 SEC) at 7 p.m. on Friday in the PMAC.
Quickness on the defensive end will be important to handle MSU’s fast paced offense, said sophomore setter Cheyenne Wood. But it shouldn’t be too much of a problem for the Tigers (7-9, 3-2 SEC), who currently lead the SEC with 16.78 digs per set.
Coming of a pivotal win against Tennessee, the Tigers carry both momentum and confidence into the upcoming two home games.
“We’re definitely expecting to pull two wins out,” said senior middle blocker Emily Ehrle. “We’ve been preparing for Mississippi this whole week, focused on their offense and getting our block in front of it.”
With 13 games remaining in the season, facing a fast paced offense is nothing new for the Tigers.
LSU coach Fran Flory said the Tigers already dealt with a similar offense in the first game of the season against University of California Irvine. Quick sets to their hitters caught the Tigers by surprise then, but after the loss in four sets, they made sure it wouldn’t happen again.
“We are a team that is going to play good defense,” Flory said. “If you get us in a match and we can extend you, our offense is going to seize the right opportunity.”
MSU’s .205 hitting percentage is well above LSU’s .165, but after the Tigers’ offense slow start, they have become increasingly efficient throughout the season.
“[Rhythm] is coming for all of us,“ Flory said. ”Having double digit kills for three kids last match is huge, but it’s what we have to have.”
Other than a win, Flory wants to see trust between the offense and defense and steady growth to consistent efforts.
”Our offense felt so much pressure to determinate the ball rather than to keep the ball in play and trust our defense to gain a better opportunity on the next ball,” Flory said. ”We’ve continued in the last three weeks to trust that and understand our defensive potential.”