The Tigers are back on the road this weekend with trips to South Carolina and Florida to play the Gamecocks and Gators.
LSU is coming off back-to-back home losses for the first time since 2004 after dropping games to No. 19 Tennessee and Kentucky last weekend in Baton Rouge.
“We have to accept it as a challenge,” said LSU coach Fran Flory. “It’s something we haven’t done in a long time. We can’t fix it once it’s done, we just can’t allow it to happen again.”
The Gamecocks squad (9-6, 0-5 Southeastern Conference), comprised of 12 underclassmen, has already matched its win total from last year.
“There’s going to be a lot of errors because we’re so young,” said sophomore middle blocker Desiree Elliot. “South Carolina has improved a lot since last season and we’re expecting a good game out of them.”
The Gamecocks started the season with an impressive 7-0 record but have dropped five consecutive games since the start of conference play.
Two of the SEC’s top liberos will also face off in the match when junior Meghan Mannari takes the court against South Carolina sophomore Paige Wheeler. Mannari ranks second in the SEC in digs per set with 4.4, while Wheeler closely trails in third with 4.34 digs per set.
“Whichever team has better ball control and passing will be the main factor of the game,” Flory said. “[Mannari] has to have a nice night for us to win. We play better when she plays well.”
After the Tigers take on the Gamecocks on Friday night, the team will travel to Gainesville, Fla., to play No. 13 Florida. The Gators tout an 11-3 record (4-1 SEC) and boasts the highest national ranking in the conference.
This will most likely be the Tigers’ toughest test of the season so far after only playing one other ranked opponent all year in a 3-1 home loss to No. 19 Tennessee.
Florida has lost four sets through five SEC games, including a 3-2 loss to Tennessee, which is the only SEC team to beat Florida.
The Gators are led by senior outside hitter Kristy Jaeckel, who was named the SEC Offensive Player of the Week after her 29 kills, 12 blocks, four digs and two service aces against Auburn and Georgia last weekend.
“They aren’t the big bad monster they used to be, but they are still very good,” Flory said. “We’ve beaten them before on their home court and we can do it again.”
 
_____
Contact Michael Gegenheimer at [email protected]