After battling injuries early in the season, the LSU volleyball team had to re-identify its offensive strategy.
“Finding their rhythm” is the in-house term for what the team is doing as its season approaches the halfway point.
“The offense is getting better each week,” said LSU coach Fran Flory. “The last two matches have certainly been our best offensive outputs. Offensive rhythm is super important, but the other pieces, like serving, setting, blocking and defense, are now coming together, so the game is now lending itself to allow our offense to be in rhythm.”
They may not have completely found their rhythm on Sunday, but the Tigers found something in their three-set, sweeping win against the University of South Carolina, 25-19, 25-18, 25-19, without one of the team’s best hitters in the lineup.
Flory rested senior outside hitter Katie Lindelow for Sunday’s match, but the team overcame her absence.
“Not having Lindelow in there was certainly a concern for our team,” Flory said. “She is the competitive pulse of our team. I think our team responded really well to that.”
The Tigers are accustomed to adversity. Their struggles reached their peak when LSU lost junior middle blocker Khourtni Fears again this season.
Lindelow, along with senior defensive specialist Haley Smith and senior outside hitter Cati Leak, are the focal point of LSU’s revamped offense, Flory said.
Leak leads the Tigers with 178 kills and 208 points this season. Lindelow is close behind with 113 kills and 134 points.
The outside hitters were left with the weight of 6-foot-2-inch Fears, who was slated to be one of the Tigers’ top performers this season, after she came down with her second-consecutive knee injury in two years.
But sophomore defensive specialist Kelly Quinn wasn’t worried about who would replace Fears, because every player is confident in their teammate’s abilities, she said.
“There is so much depth everywhere,” Quinn said. “Even if someone goes down, there is someone right behind who we trust can do just as well. That’s a strength of our team. The way we trust each other and believe in each other, regardless of who is on the court. We can adjust to any lineup change.”
But the adjustment hasn’t gone over as smoothly as Quinn hoped.
LSU is hitting .154 on the season with 586 kills and 293 errors.
Flory said to be successful and accumulate wins, her team will have to hit more than .220-.230 to maintain a good balance of offensive efficiency.
“Tempo and timing is what volleyball is,” Flory said. “The bottom line is that the hitters have adjusted and adapted well, and the setters have found their rhythm a little bit.”