Win one out of three.
That is all the No. 16 LSU volleyball team has to do to clinch a share of its sixth-consecutive Southeastern Conference Western Division championship.
The Tigers (23-3, 14-3) will have their first opportunity to lock up the title Friday night when South Carolina (7-20, 4-13) comes to the PMAC. They will take on top-ranked Florida (24-1, 17-0) on Sunday.
Friday night will also mark the beginning of the final home weekend for LSU’s three seniors — outside hitter Angela Bensend, setter Brittney Johnson and outside hitter Tania Schatow.
“I’m really excited, I just want us to go out there and win,” Schatow said. “I’m not really thinking about it being our last weekend, it’s just two more matches to win.”
Though the seniors are attempting to look past the idea that this is their final weekend playing in the PMAC, they have all begun to look back on their careers as Tigers.
“My favorite memory would be beating Florida at home and at their home last year,” Bensend said. “That was really exciting.”
The wins against Florida last season were the first time LSU had beaten Florida since 1991 and just another notch on the victory belt of this senior class.
“They’ve defined us a little bit,” said LSU coach Fran Flory. “They’ve never not succeeded and they’re going to hopefully leave with four SEC West Championships and a SEC Championship. They have sustained the level of success, and I think their biggest contribution is what we’ve been able to accomplish this year.”
Making the team a success this season has taken a full team effort.
Johnson is currently the SEC’s leader in assists and has recorded 10 double-doubles in conference play.
Freshman middle blocker Desiree Elliott has hit at over a .300 clip in 12 of 17 SEC games. She is also the reigning SEC Freshman of the Week.
In the past seven matches Schatow has killed 38 balls and blocked 27.
All the while Bensend has a team-high 352 kills throughout the season, averaging 3.87 per set.
The Tigers will need all the pieces to contribute to their fullest potential if they are going to take down the Gators.
Florida is currently riding a 19-game winning streak and has not lost since Sept.10.
The Gators are led by junior setter Kelly Murphy, who has tallied 281 kills this season. But Murphy is one of six Gators to have more than 100 kills, three of which have more than 200.
In the first matchup between the two teams this season, Florida won the match handily, 3-1, but Flory is optimistic about LSU’s chances on Sunday.
“If we’ll play a faster pace we’ll create some opportunities,” she said. “We have to take advantage of the opportunities. We had a great opportunity at their place, and you have to credit them for withstanding that. They’re a great team and they’re better today than they were last time, but so are we.”
And nothing would please Bensend more than to finish out her PMAC playing days victorious.
“I want to win as much as possible,” Bensend said. “We’re getting better every step, so as long as we keep pushing and keep playing at our pace it will show out in the end.”
 
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Contact Rob Landry at [email protected]