The middle blocker position is one of the most unique in volleyball, one where the player must have the height and ability to defend against the offensive attack of other teams, while possessing the speed and quickness to create offense for themselves.
LSU sophomore middle blocker Lauren DeGirolamo may not have mastered the craft of the position yet, but judging from the No. 21 LSU volleyball team’s first two weekends of play, she seems well on her way.
DeGirolamo leads the Tigers, with 79 kills and 38 blocks through the first six games of the season.
Her performance has helped LSU capture the Mizuno Tiger Classic and Mizuno Inviational II tournament titles so far this season. The young Tigers, who are playing with eight freshmen and sophomores, will go for their third-straight tournament championship when they participate in the Drake Tournament this weekend in Des Moines, Iowa.
LSU has shutout three of its six opponents this season and has been pushed to five sets twice, beating Illinois and defending Atlantic-10 Conference champion, St. Louis, 3-2.
DeGirolamo said her hot start is partly because of the quick development of the Tigers’ young setters, sophomore Maggie Lonergan and freshman Brittney Johnson.
“Our passes are good and our setters are giving me good sets, so I’m able to connect and get kills,” she said. “Our offense is that we try to spread the ball around, so [opponents] don’t know who it’s going to.”
“We’re not just an outside [hitting] team. On our team especially, we try to keep their middle blockers guessing who’ll get the ball.”
DeGirolamo made a name for herself both this past season within the Southeastern Conference and across the nation. She ranked No. 3 in the conference and No. 9 in the country in blocks per game in 2006. For her efforts, the Illinois native was named to the SEC All-Freshmen team and was named SEC Freshman of the Week on four separate occasions.
LSU coach Fran Flory said she anticipated DeGirolamo’s level of play before the season began.
“On media day I said I expected her to have an All-American type season, and she’s putting up those type of numbers already,” Flory said. “The good thing is our ball control is good enough to get her the ball enough to where she can have those stats. Our setters are doing a nice job – in spite of their inexperience – of creating opportunities for her.”
One of the common threads between the Tigers’ two season-opening tournament wins is DeGirolamo garnering most valuable player honors in both events.
She said even though LSU has opened the season 6-0, there is still room for improvement before the Tigers begin SEC play Sept. 12 at Ole Miss.
“We definitely want to improve on our block timing, getting in front of the hitters,” she said. “We’ve also missed a lot of serves.”
Flory said since the season-opener Aug. 24 against New Orleans, she has noticed slight improvement in her team’s overall confidence level.
“I think we became much more efficient and physical,” she said. “We got a little more sure of ourselves. Our returners especially are kind of working into a groove and feeling more comfortable playing next to a couple of new people. I think our lineup got a little more solidified [this past weekend].”
Flory has alternated between Lonergan and Johnson at the setter position, with Lonergan starting four matches and Johnson starting two. Flory has said multiple times she does not expect the setter position to be finalized until conference play begins.
Lonergan, who is averaging 10.5 assists per game, said she has adjusted well to the Tigers’ style of play and the communication between herself and the rest of her teammates has been a major factor to this season’s early success.
“Everyone’s working well together and helping each other vocally,” she said. “When everyone’s talking, we’re much better, and the pace is faster.”
DeGirolamo said the team has a long way to go before SEC play starts.
“The more we get to play together, the better we get,” she said. “I think that everything improved [this past weekend]. We can still be better.”
—Contact Tyler Batiste at [email protected]