A late season defeat at the hands of Kentucky last year remains fresh in LSU head coach Fran Flory’s mind. That loss prevented the Tigers from sharing the Southeastern Conference Western division title and meant a lower seed in the conference tournament.
The Tigers will be in a similar position tonight when the Wildcats visit the PMAC at 6 p.m. to play a rare midweek match. The Tigers are riding a five-match winning streak that has vaulted them into second place in their division and ensured a conference tournament berth. Kentucky has won three straight and again stands in the way of a possible division title.
“They took something from us last year,” Flory said. “That is going to be the impetus behind our preparation and our approach to the match.”
LSU (15-7, 7-4 SEC) defeated Alabama and Auburn last weekend and currently holds the fourth seed overall. A win would inch the Tigers within two games of division-leading Arkansas, with two to play.
Kentucky (11-12, 5-7 SEC) swept Ole Miss and Mississippi State last weekend, and according to Flory, is playing better as the regular season draws to a close.
“It’s a team we haven’t matched up well against in the past,” Flory said. “We have to be efficient offensively and terminate on our side of the ball.”
The Tigers have one of the SEC’s most effective terminators in senior outside hitter Jennifer Hampton. Hampton is the reigning SEC Player of the Week, following strong weekend performances. She led the Tigers with 34 kills and 17 digs during the weekend, including a career-high 25 kills in Sunday’s crucial win against the Crimson Tide.
Hampton recorded her 100th career ace on Sunday and leads the Tigers in kills (327), kills per game (4.0), digs (234) and digs per game (2.8).
“This is a wonderful honor for Jennifer,” Flory said. “She has been outstanding on defense her entire career and this season she really stepped up her offensive output.”
Kentucky will counter with Sarah Spinner, who averages 3.5 kills per game, and Kristin Batt. Batt leads the Wildcats with 3.7 kills per game and more than three digs per game.
As the season winds down, the Tigers continue to rely on their major contributors. Middle blocker Regan Hood’s hitting percentage has improved to .273, and she averages just fewer than three kills per game. Freshman Cara Causey has not let up. The outside hitter averages 2.5 kills per game and is hitting at a .291 pace. Katie Kubena’s assist total has reached 919 for the season, which translates into 11 per game.
The Tigers are rolling at precisely the right time. LSU has won six of seven after stumbling to a 2-3 SEC start. The Kentucky game offers LSU a chance to maintain its momentum, avenge last year’s loss and springboard the Tigers into the weekend.
This weekend the Tigers can move closer to Arkansas when they face Ole Miss and Mississippi State — teams they have already defeated. Flory said the Tigers are not looking ahead to next week’s match with the Razorbacks.
“We are gaining confidence, but we haven’t reached our peak yet,” Flory said. “We’re headed in the right direction, but we know that we can still get better.”