After a five-set thriller last night, the LSU volleyball team anticipates its next match against South Carolina at 1 p.m. on Sunday in the PMAC.
The Tigers (4-8, 0-1 Southeastern Conference) have traveled on a rocky road the first half of the season, but there’s light at the end of the tunnel.
“At the beginning of the year we were kind of very rough,” said freshman middle blocker Brittany Welsh. “We didn’t know exactly what we wanted to do. As the games keep going, we are finding new ways to progress.”
Welsh said she looks forward to SEC play because it will further the team’s development.
Up next is South Carolina (7-6, 0-0 SEC). Welsh said she expects the Gamecocks will be ready to play, but so will the Tigers, which will make for a good SEC matchup.
“I’m expected them to be ready to play,” Welsh said. “It’s going to be tough competition, so that’s good for us and will help us progress as we keep moving on this season.”
LSU coach Fran Flory relayed a more descriptive preview for Sunday’s match.
“They have some very, very talented players,” Flory said. “They have had some struggles at the setting position just like we have. Their offense is a little less physical and a little more shot selection. We are going to have to run a more balanced defensive system and be prepared to be mobile.”
It will be a different defensive game plan than the Tigers have executed this season. But sophomore defensive specialist Kelly Quinn said she focuses more on her team’s chemistry than the opponent.
“We are trying to focus on how we work the best together,” Quinn said. “Our main goal is to have a rhythm. We need to figure out how we work the best together and how each person can add to that. Everyone needs to have the same focus and the same goal.”
Team-wide chemistry and rhythm is forthcoming as the Tigers continue to face tough in-conference competition.
Flory acknowledges the struggles and adversities the Tigers have faced so far and has set a goal for her team this season.
“We have a really good perspective of where we are,” Flory said. “We’ve had to overcome adversity. Each week we make improvements in different areas. We are beginning to reap the benefits of that.
“The goal of this team is to improve each week. So far in the last three or four weeks, we have improved.”
On Wednesday night, LSU lost in five sets to Arkansas (11-2, 1-0 SEC) in a contested, two-hour, 47-minute battle, showing vast progression from LSU offensively and defensively.
Quinn said the Tigers played well, yet there are still improvements to be made.
“It was great competition,” Quinn said. “It was a good start for SEC play, but it didn’t turn out the way we wanted it to. We did do some good things, so that’s a good place to start for SEC play.”
Flory said this season would be a huge success if her team finishes as one of the top-six SEC finishers, with a chance to be one of the top three teams in the conference.
“We have a great chance to beat a lot of teams in the SEC,” Flory said.