The LSU volleyball team continues with conference play after a 3-0 loss to Alabama last weekend.
The Tigers travel to Mississippi where they will face Ole Miss on Friday before traveling to Starkville to play Mississippi State on Sunday.
“This is a dangerous trip for us,” said LSU coach Fran Flory. “It’s easy to go in to this weekend feeling those teams are not performing. We have to go into this weekend very prepared.”
Ole Miss and Mississippi State have three wins combined this season, but Flory stressed to the team the importance of going into these games focused. She compared the volleyball team’s weekend to the football team’s game against Florida.
“They’re going to read the media stuff and say [the Rebels and Mississippi State] are not very good,” Flory said. “But we have to prepare for what we have to do.”
The Tigers (7-9, 2-3 SEC) will be without the services of Megan Heinz, who’s out of the game with an ankle sprain. Heinz ranks No. 3 in blocks in the Southeastern Conference with 1.39 per game.
LSU’s Regan Hood, the SEC’s leader in kills, is questionable for the game. Flory said Hood will be flying in following her grandfather’s funeral.
The Rebels (2-15, 1-3 SEC) return home after losing to Kentucky 3-1 last Friday.
Elena Garcia, a junior outside hitter for the Rebels, recorded her 700th career kill and dig over the weekend. Garcia ranks No. 2 in the SEC in digs with 3.5 per game.
Rachel Refenes ranks sixth in the SEC in blocks with 1.2 per game for the Rebels.
Mississippi State (1-13, 0-4 SEC) lost to South Carolina last weekend. Rachel Cooper had nine kills in the game for the Bulldogs while Tanika Taylor had eight.
On defense, Lauren Bounds had 12 digs for the Bulldogs.
Out of the 11 teams in the SEC, Ole Miss and Mississippi State rank No. 9 and No. 11.
Flory said offensively the team is not where they need to be.
“We’ve worked on being attack-oriented,” Flory said.
Flory said losing Heinz, one of the top hitters in the SEC, is going to affect the team’s offense.