Eight months ago, LSU did the unthinkable.
With a Dec. 2 win over Hawai’i, the Tigers advanced past the first round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2014, making their first postseason appearance since 2017.
LSU snuck into the tournament as an at-large seed in the Stanford regional despite a 2-5 close to its season. The upset over Hawai’i cemented the season as a wildly successful debut year under head coach Tonya Johnson.
Almost no one could have predicted the success. Historically, LSU has been a solid but not exceptional program. Even during head coach Fran Flory’s 24-year tenure from 1998-2021, which yielded a program-record 405 wins and seven straight division championships, the team won only four tournament games.
Johnson got her first in her first year.
The coaching staff saw the potential for a run this past year, but their main goal before the season was to lay the foundation for future success. Instead, the team exceeded all expectations.
Heading into this year, LSU has the chance to keep the party going. Three key rotation pieces graduated in hitter Hannah Jacobs, setter Josie Vondran and defensive specialist Jill Bohnet, but Jacobs and Vondran had been one-year grad transfer rentals.
The Tigers now have people ready to take their place. The foundation of the tournament team is back in stars Sanaa Dotson and Anita Anwusi along with many other significant contributors.
Run it back? Not quite.
One of the most important pieces of LSU’s 16-14 campaign was then-sophomore libero Ella Larkin. Her rock-solid defense was an important part of the team’s identity.
Over the offseason, Larkin made the decision to leave the indoor volleyball program to focus on beach volleyball. For the past two seasons, Larkin spent the fall with the indoor team and the spring out on the sand, a demanding schedule for any athlete.
Larkin still excelled at both, leading the Southeastern Conference in digs during the indoor season and being a member of one of LSU’s top five beach duos this past season with a 29-6 record.
“She decided that beach was where she was more passionate,” Dotson said.
The development was a speed bump to the momentum that was building after such a successful season.
“I did not expect it. I didn’t see it coming,” Johnson said.
“We were sad to see her go, but happy that she’s enjoying herself in the sands,” Dotson said.
Replacing any starter is difficult, but especially one as talented as Larkin. Larkin was a well-rounded volleyball player who started as setter for the Tigers her freshman year and was an SEC All-Freshman honoree before switching positions to libero and continuing to excel.
You can’t miss a libero–she’s diving all over the floor and wears a different color jersey. She spends all her time in the back row and is undoubtedly the anchor of a team’s defense, which is why Larkin’s departure is particularly difficult for LSU.
With Larkin leading the charge with a league-leading 516, the Tiger defense collectively had the most digs in the SEC and finished second in digs per set last season. In addition, the team surrendered a hitting percentage of just 0.207, fifth-lowest in the conference. A lot of the credit for that goes to Larkin.
Heading into this year, Johnson and LSU are now forced to plug a Larkin-sized hole at one of the most important positions in the sport of volleyball.
The Tigers will have options. As of now, the battle is mainly down to graduate transfer Erin Carmichael and sophomore Bri Anderson.
“They’re both battling it out every single day. I think they’ll both get opportunities at some point, but they’ve both been really good for us,” Johnson said.
Carmichael transferred this offseason from Jacksonville State where she was a four-year starter at libero. In her time at JSU, she earned a regular season conference championship and recorded over 1400 digs.
Carmichael is also a talented server, an area that Johnson emphasized at times last year as an area of improvement. She had 38 aces last year for JSU, 13 more than anyone on LSU’s roster.
Anderson saw time in each of LSU’s first six matches last year before suffering an injury and being relegated to the bench. The Gainesville, Florida, native was ranked the No. 65 player in the 2021 class by Prep Volleyball and has experience both at pin hitter and defensive specialist.
One of those two will most likely become the libero for LSU, but the team also has a few returners in the mix such as junior Madison Martin and sophomore Bri Zamora, who was used occasionally as a serving substitute last year. In addition, the team recruited freshman Ella Hemmings at the position this offseason.
Throughout the early schedule of the season, LSU will likely experiment a good bit at libero. Carmichael and Anderson will both get extended run.
It’s important that the coaching staff makes the right decision for who will hold down their defense, but it’s also important that the decision is made quickly and decisively. Drawn-out position battles are often more detrimental to a team than making a decision and sticking with it.
How LSU replaces Larkin, one of the best liberos in the conference and perhaps in the country, could be the most important development of the season. For now, though, LSU is confident that the team will find success despite the unexpected pivot at the all-important libero position.
“We’re definitely not worried,” Dotson said.
