Midway through the season, the LSU volleyball coaching staff decided to pass responsibility of pregame pep talks and techniques to the players.
Before the Tigers’ Nov. 2 match against Kentucky, a select group of players placed one-word descriptions above each locker to hopefully help provide motivation and a boost in confidence.
“We gave them the task of doing motivational stuff for each game,” said LSU coach Fran Flory. “We assigned different groups for different matches. One of the groups came up with giving everybody names.”
Junior libero Elena Martinez’s description was “Hustler.”
Sophomore middle blocker Brittnee Cooper’s term was “Terminator.”
Senior defensive specialist Michelle Hensgens was anointed “Leader.”
All are appropriate, but Hensgens one-word description may hold more merit than the others.
On a team with eight freshman and sophomores, Hensgens has been the Tigers’ lone senior on their quest to capture a third-straight Southeastern Conference Western Division title.
That quest concludes this weekend in the PMAC with the Tigers’ final two SEC matches, against Georgia (17-11, 8-10) on Friday and against Auburn (11-18, 3-15) on Sunday.
Those matches, coupled with LSU’s Nov. 24 non-conference home match against Tulane, mark the end of a quiet yet productive career for Hensgens.
The Morgan City native said she felt honored seeing her teammates post the word “leader” above her locker.
“I always try to be a leader, but you don’t always know if people are understanding or even listening to what you have to say,” Hensgens said. “When I walked into the locker room, it touched me. I thought ‘Maybe my words are being heard, and my actions are being seen.'”
Hensgens, who has played in all 28 matches this season and 90 matches in her career, has been part of the program’s rise from SEC mediocrity to a divisional powerhouse.
Flory said although Hensgens stats are not eye catching and she does not receive a lot of attention, she has been one of the most important members of the team throughout the past four seasons.
“The heart and soul of a program is always about the kids that come to the gym everyday and work hard, are loyal, are trustworthy and do everything right,” Flory said. “They just want the program to be better than it was when they arrived. Michelle has been that.”
Hensgens said she hopes her final season ends up being one of the most successful in LSU volleyball history.
“I want to take the next step,” she said. “I want to not lose in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. I want to go further. That’s my ultimate goal.”
To reach that goal, the Tigers (22-6, 13-5) must first secure an NCAA Tournament bid, and defeating Georgia and Auburn this weekend would go a long way in assuring that opportunity.
The Tigers swept the Bulldogs earlier this season, but Flory insisted Georgia will present a difficult challenge for her team.
“Georgia’s the most improved team in the league [from the 2006 season],” she said. “They’re going to come in with a point to prove.”
The Bulldogs won only six games this past season and finished SEC play with a 2-18 conference record.
“We understand LSU is a quality opponent, we anticipate a battle,” said Georgia coach Joel McCartney. “Although they came out with a three-game sweep [earlier this season] we felt like, especially the first two games, could have gone either way. We stepped up and battled, and we believe we’ll do that in Baton Rouge.”
LSU is coming off its first win at Alabama in six years this past Sunday.
The victory gave the Tigers control of their own destiny in the SEC West, which means two wins this weekend will give LSU the division championship, despite what happens in other weekend contests.
Martinez said not having to worry about what Ole Miss (23-7, 12-6) and Alabama (15-12, 12-6) do this weekend is a great feeling.
“No other factors can affect [winning the SEC West], aside from what we do and how we take care of our side of the court,” Martinez said. “That definitely relieves the pressure.”
—-Contact Tyler Batiste at [email protected]