On Wednesday, LSU will attempt to win its third Southeastern Conference matchup in eight SEC games.
The Tigers (7-12, 2-6 SEC) will play against Missouri at 7 p.m. today at the Hearnes Center in Columbia, Missouri.
The game comes after two losses at the PMAC against Florida and South Carolina, on Oct. 14 and Oct. 16 with scores of 0-3 and 1-3, respectively.
LSU coach Fran Flory said the team had trouble with trust, but the players are working to improve.
“We got anxious again, and we started pressing, and we didn’t really trust,” Flory said. “If you don’t trust, you’re not going to win many matches. We have to do a better job with trusting each other and trusting ourselves.”
Flory said that after the losses, she is making the team focus more on defense.
“Defense is about attitude and about fight and desire and pride,” Flory said. “We did not show that [against South Carolina]. That was the biggest disappointment … It’s easy. We can fix that in practice. We’ll change our mindset.”
LSU last contested against Missouri on Oct. 2 at the PMAC but fell in three sets: 25-17, 25-14 and 25-23.
Missouri ended the match with 41 kills and 12 errors. LSU had 33 kills, but twice as many errors, with 24 to end the match.
After losing the first two sets, the Tigers forced 10 tied scores and three lead changes in the third set. However, Missouri won the match, 3-0, as LSU’s underclassmen guided the near-win.
“Tiara [Gibson] is doing a better job in the middle and Olivia [Beyer] has done a great job of coming off the bench and becoming a starter,” Flory said. “The stability that has provided is a positive.”
At the time, Missouri’s record was 4-0 in the SEC Missouri is currently ranked second in the SEC at 7-0.
Missouri takes the second spot in SEC hitting percentage with 27.8 percent. The team is No. 5 in blocks and kills, with an average of 13.71 kills and 2.51 blocks. Missouri places sixth in assists, with an average of 12.43 and No. 8 with an average of 13.93 digs.
LSU is No. 12 in hitting percentage, with an average of 19.2 percent and in assists and kills with an average of 11.31 assists and 12.24 kills. Additionally, LSU takes the No. 11 spot with 1.96 blocks and second in digs with an average of 15.
“Mizzou’s a pretty good team,” sophomore outside hitter Toni Rodriguez said. “It’s the perfect opportunity for us to go. We have nothing to lose.”