When the Tigers compete against Auburn at 7 p.m. on Friday at the Auburn Arena after a two-game losing streak, including losses to Baylor and Florida State on Sept. 14 and Sept. 18, sophomore Toni Rodriguez said the team will face a worthy opponent.
“[Auburn’s] setters are pretty offensive,” she said. “We haven’t seen a lot of that … But getting this win, it’ll really boost our team’s confidence and I think everyone will play better.”
LSU last contested against Auburn on Oct. 25. The five-set match was a battle, but LSU eventually won, 3-2. Auburn ended the game with 75 kills and 30 errors. LSU had 66 kills and 23 errors.
This time around, LSU must worry about Auburn’s offensive drive. Auburn tops the charts at No. 1 in digs in the Southeastern Conference, averaging 15.76 digs per set compared to LSU’s third-ranked 15.02 digs per set in the conference.
Auburn’s Jesse Earl spearheads the team with 5.28 digs per set.
LSU junior Cheyenne Wood checks in at the No. 8 spot in the SEC with 3.62 digs per set.
This match will be LSU’s first SEC game this season. Gaining this win would boost the team’s confidence, Rodriguez said.
The team can’t get lost in the shuffle on the court because Auburn has different step-ins at the net, which are running approaches, senior Tiara Gibson explained.
“As a front row blocker, we need to have really big court vision but at the same time, not get lost in everything that’s going on,” Gibson said. “That’s going to be important.”
Though the team has recent losses on its record, the Tigers are practicing harder for their first SEC win.
The team has specifically focused on its offense, said LSU coach Fran Flory.
“What we’re looking for is balance,” Flory said. “We’re trying to make sure that we control things that we can control offensively, and then we’re ahead of the play defensively, and we can implement a great gameplan.”