Preparing for LSU volleyball’s first match of the season on Aug. 27 against Michigan, Head Coach Fran Flory felt confident going into the team’s first practice this past Monday, coming off the program’s longest season last year of 159 days.
The Baton Rouge native, backing 23 years of experience at LSU, happily welcomed her entire team back from the previous season in addition to five new faces this fall.
“It’s obvious that this group put in a lot of work together over the summer,” Flory said. “They already have a pretty good flow. It will be to see how far we can get them and how fast we can get them to the top of their potential.”
With the entire 2021 team returning, this year’s roster won’t look completely different. However, the addition of three freshmen and a pair of transfers will undoubtedly impact the team’s performance this upcoming season.
“We have to create opportunities with the level of athletes we have on our side to score and win,” Flory said.
The Tigers are aiming to top the SEC this season with the new additions of outside hitters: with graduate student Kylie Deberg and junior Sanaa Dotson from Oklahoma. Deberg is a three-time All-American graduate student who led the SEC and the NCAA Top-10 in kills and points at 385 and 450 respectively by the end of the previous season at Missouri. Dotson played her freshman and sophomore seasons with the Sooners, totaling 215 kills.
“[Deberg] certainly changes the complexion of our team and the opportunities we have for the fall,” Flory said. “I don’t know that there are many other players that have impacted their teams in the last three years like Kylie has.”
With the return of All-American Taylor Bannister and the addition of Deberg, the Tigers will hold the SEC’s top leaders in kills, kills per set, points and points per set from the 2020-21 season.
“To have two of those types of players on the same side of the net competing together,” Flory said, “I think it will certainly provide some great challenges for our opponents. It will provide great challenges for our team in our own gym and the competitiveness in our gym in practice just changed significantly as well.”
As for newcomers, fans will see defensive specialists Madison Martin and Ella Larkin along with outside setter Ellie Echter set their debuts in the PMAC this fall. Martin is a defensive specialist with a high school state championship under her belt along with the state lead in digs this past year.
The team will officially kick off the season with the Tiger Classic in Baton Rouge. Their first match is slated against Michigan on Aug. 27 at 6 p.m., followed by matchups against Northern Arizona and Florida State the following two days.
SEC play will officially start on Sept. 22 in Arkansas against the Razorbacks. LSU will face Alabama next on Sept. 25 for the home opener. The Tigers will have a two-game series at home during mid-October against Florida, Kentucky and Tennessee. Then the purple and gold will then wrap up a majority of their season on the road after the match against the Volunteers on Oct. 24.
In addition to the roster additions, the Tigers welcomed back graduate student Raigen Cianciulli who opted for the additional year of eligibility. This past season, the Tiger’s star libero became LSU’s all-time leader in career digs. LSU Volleyball has also announced the promotion of Sarah Rumely Noble to associate head coach after serving four seasons as an assistant.
