After defeating Southeastern Conference rival South Carolina, the LSU volleyball team is holding steady in the middle of the SEC pack.
Despite the excitement of beating USC for the first time since 1995, LSU defensive specialist Rachel Pittman said the victory does not mean much for the Tigers as far as the NCAA nationals are concerned.
“For SEC competition it gave South Carolina a lower chance of getting in the NCAA championships,” Pittman said. “We’d have to win the SEC tournament to go to the NCAA’s.”
Pittman said the SEC is not thought of nationally as a strong volleyball conference. Last year Arkansas won the SEC Western Division but was not invited to the NCAA’s.
Setter Beth Cowley said last week that a win against the Gamecocks could earn the young Tigers some respect in the conference as they maintain their position at No. 2 in the west.
Florida and Arkansas are battling for the top spot in the SEC as both teams maintain undefeated conference records.
Arkansas leads the Western Division with a 16-4 record overall and a 9-0 SEC record.
The Razorbacks’ Sara Kincaid was named SEC Defensive Player of the Week Monday after recording seven blocks against South Carolina and eight against Kentucky.
Florida tops the Eastern Division with a 20-1 overall record and eight straight wins in the SEC.
Unfortunately for the Tigers, both Tennessee and Georgia pulled out wins this weekend, which means that the Vols and Bulldogs each improve to 6-2 in the conference to hold onto the No. 3 and No. 4 spots in the SEC.
The SEC Player of the Week is Amy Morris of Tennessee, who had 28 kills in the Vols’ victories over Auburn and Alabama. She also totaled 25 digs in those matches.
Individually, several Tigers still rank among the best in the conference. Junior Regan Hood still leads the SEC in kills per game with 4.45. Right behind Hood is Kincaid with 4.37 kills per game.
Sophomore Megan Heinz ranks No. 6 in the conference in blocks. Heinz has tallied 10 solo blocks and 41 assists.
Freshman Daniela Romero averages 10.31 assists per game to put her at No. 9 in the SEC.
The Tigers take a break from SEC competition as they host Hawaii on Sunday. They return to conference play with a match against Tennessee on Oct. 26.