The road to an eighth consecutive Southeastern Conference Western Division championship for the LSU volleyball team travels through newcomer Texas A&M.
Fresh off splitting last weekend’s matches with a 3-1 win at Auburn and a straight set loss at Kentucky, the Tigers will face off against the division-leading Aggies in Baton Rouge tonight.
“In the Kentucky match we figured out that we had a lot of stuff to work on,” said junior middle blocker Desiree Elliott. “But it wasn’t a discouraging weekend. We had a great game against Auburn, and then I guess on Sunday something just wasn’t right.”
A&M (15-5) holds a 19-13 advantage in the all-time series against LSU (9-12), but this will be the Aggies’ first trip back to the PMAC since beating the Tigers 3-2 in 2009.
“Any win in the SEC is a big win, and certainly the history of LSU and A&M goes a long way,” said LSU coach Fran Flory. “… If you asked us in a couple years who’s your rival in the SEC, A&M might be saying LSU and LSU might be saying A&M.”
LSU’s 9-12 overall record ranks the team second to last in the SEC, but its 5-7 conference record leaves it within striking distance of another division championship.
With only eight games remaining in SEC play for the Tigers, a win against the Aggies is crucial to remain in the hunt for another western division title.
“Certainly [a division title is] our goal from the beginning,” Flory said. “If we’re able to pull this off and rally at the end … it may be even a better performance than some of the teams that have been able to win it for the past two, three, maybe even four years.”
Senior libero Meghan Mannari was named SEC Defensive Player of the Week after a 53-dig performance against Kentucky and Auburn last weekend, including a career-high 40 digs against Auburn.
Junior transfer setter Jaclynn Gerig saw significant playing time against Auburn and Kentucky after sophomore setter Malorie Pardo was injured in the second set against Auburn. Pardo did return to the court against Kentucky, but she split time with Gerig.
Pardo is still questionable, but Flory alluded to the possibility of Gerig continuing to see increased play time.
“Malorie didn’t jump yesterday, by my choice not by any other choice,” Flory said. “… She’s a tough kid that recovers fast so I would look for her to be ready by the weekend, but I wouldn’t say for sure. Jackie did a nice job, and if called upon again, she’ll have a little more experience and be a little more prepared.”
The Tigers will take on the Aggies at 7 p.m. tonight in the PMAC before hosting SEC-worst Mississippi State (4-16) on Sunday.
Who: LSU vs. Texas A&M
When: 7 p.m. tonight
Where: PMAC
Watch at home: CST
