If the season ended today, the LSU volleyball team would hold the No. 4 seed in the Southeastern Conference Tournament. But the season does not end today.
A win against Kentucky Tuesday night would have kept the Tigers alive in the Western Division race, but as the Tigers travel to Mississippi this weekend they are looking to distance themselves from two teams that are a game back in the standings.
Following Tuesday’s setback, which ended LSU’s five-game winning streak, the Tigers still have the luxury of controlling their own destiny. LSU faces a 1-11 Mississippi State squad Friday night in Starkville before travelling to Oxford for a 1:30 p.m. match against 2-10 Ole Miss.
At 7-5 in the SEC, LSU is chased by two 6-6 teams — Alabama and Tennessee.
“Those teams are fighting for survival and it’s their opportunity to sneak into the tournament,” said head coach Fran Flory.
Two wins this weekend, would all but ensure the Tigers of a fourth seed. Their chances are further improved by the fact that Alabama faces conference power Florida and a tough Georgia team this weekend. Tennessee has the task of matching up with the conference’s other juggernaut South Carolina followed by a contest with Kentucky — winners of four in a row.
“We have to go into this weekend like it is a must win,” Flory said. “We have to have these matches to secure our seed in the tournament and help our program continue to grow.”
Flory said she was disappointed with the team’s effort Tuesday night and the Tigers have to maintain a killer instinct for the rest of the season. The Kentucky game was a golden opportunity for the Tigers to put pressure on division leading Arkansas, but the Tigers failed to deliver.
“We did a poor job on Tuesday,” Flory said. “We are fighting for pride and where this program is going to end up and hopefully we learned from the experience.”
Sophomore middle-blocker Regan Hood led the Tigers against Kentucky with 18 kills and a season-high eight blocks while hitting a blistering .424 from the field. Senior outside-hitter Jennifer Hampton looks to rebound from a rare low-output match. Hampton registered just 12 kills and hit only 12 percent of her shots. Senior libero Jenny Greco had a season-high 20 digs, but the Tigers’ hitting percentage ended up at just .233.
“I still believe that we can get better,” Flory said. “Our attitude has to be that we are going to get it done against the Mississippi teams. We need to put the ball away and that has been the theme through out the season.”