Ole Miss volleyball coach Joe Getzin said earlier this week LSU was the one team he did not want to open Southeastern Conference play against.
His statement was justified Wednesday night when the No. 24 Tigers (9-1, 1-0) swept the Rebels (10-2, 0-1) in Oxford, Miss., 30-24, 30-22 and 30-21.
LSU junior outside hitter Kyna Washington, who finished this past weekend’s Iowa Challenge Tournament with 63 kills, continued her impressive start to the season, leading the Tigers with 24.
Junior outside hitter Marina Skender added 16 kills, and sophomore middle blocker Lauren DeGirolamo had 10 kills and five blocks.
Ole Miss senior outside hitter Katie Kramer, who was one of the main points of interest in LSU’s early week practices, led the Rebels with eight kills.
The win was the Tigers fourth-straight victory in an SEC season-opener, and their fourth win in the past five matches against Ole Miss.
“We came out with great energy and great intensity and top to bottom, there was not one person who didn’t do exactly what we asked them to do,” LSU coach Fran Flory said. “This was our best performance of the year so far.”
The Tiger and Rebel matchup was the first game of the SEC schedule this season, a season some of the league’s coaches called one of the most competitive in recent years.
“This season there’s more parity in the conference,” Arkansas coach Chris Poole said. “I don’t know if there’s as many good teams at the top, but from top to bottom, [the conference] is very strong. It’s going to be a dogfight every weekend. You couldn’t have said that about the SEC four years ago.”
Getzin said the gap has closed between conference teams since he became coach at Ole Miss before the 2002 season.
“The bottom half has gotten so much stronger in my six years here,” he said. “There’s not a night you can just walk into a gym and know that you have a [win].”
Seven conference teams made the 2006 NCAA Tournament, but only two of them – Florida and Kentucky – advanced past the first round.
Purdue swept the Wildcats in the second round, and Florida lost to Minnesota, 3-1, in the third round.
Flory said Kentucky is one team she expects to finish at or near the top of the conference standings this season.
“They have beaten some good teams but lost some close matches that probably could have pushed them into the polls,” Flory said. “They’re going to be a team that’s going to be a little bit of a surprise in the conference.”
This past season, LSU was the surprise team in the SEC. The Tigers won their second-straight SEC West title and achieved their highest ranking in the CSTV/AVCA Poll since 1992, peaking at No. 10 in October.
Kentucky coach Craig Skinner said he does not expect the Tigers to fall off much from last season, despite losing four seniors and three starters.
“I don’t think they’re rebuilding,” Skinner said. “They’re reloading.”
He said the goal for every team is to capture a conference championship, and he hopes his team, which has only two seniors on the roster, can at least move forward toward attaining that goal.
“Can we [win a conference title]? I don’t know,” Skinner said. “We just have to improve as the season goes along.”
The Wildcats have begun this season 9-2, and they face their first SEC opponent Friday when they host Mississippi State.
Skinner said he believes Florida, which won its 16th consecutive SEC title in 2006, is the team head and shoulders above the rest in the SEC.
“Below Florida, you can see a lot of teams beating each other in different situations at different times of the year,” he said. “Until someone else wins the conference title outright, Florida has a stronghold on that position. They’re a great team and deserve their ranking.”
The Gators are ranked No. 6 in the country and also begin conference play Friday when they face Georgia.
“[The Gators] have four seniors who are trying to go out on a high note,” Getzin said. “They are a Final Four caliber team in my opinion.
—Contact Tyler Batiste at [email protected]