Senior libero Kassi Mikulik is one of the most recognizable figures on the No. 10 LSU volleyball team. Not only by her playing skills and athletic ability is she recognizable but also by the color of her jersey. As volleyball aficionados know, the player in the libero position wears a different color jersey than the rest of the team. But what many people may not know is that playing libero is somewhat of a new adventure for Mikulik. She was an outside hitter during her freshman and sophomore seasons with the Tigers. But when starting libero Rachel Pittman left the team after the 2004 season, Mikulik stepped in to fill her shoes. “I went up to [coach Fran Flory] and said, ‘I’ll do whatever to help the team,'” Mikulik said. “So she decided to move me to libero, which helped out our ball control.” Flory said the libero position suits Mikulik extremely well. “Kassi is tailor-made to be a libero in college,” Flory said. “She’s a little undersized to be an outside [hitter], but she survived on heart and grit and athleticism. Playing libero is a much more difficult position in terms of learning rotations because you’re back row; you don’t ever change. It’s a very different mentality.” Mikulik has flourished in her role as the team’s ball control and defensive specialist. She played in all 107 games in 29 matches in the 2005 season and ranked ninth in the Southeastern Conference in digs per game. Mikulik recorded 26 digs, which was the second-most digs recorded in a three-game match in LSU history, in the Tigers’ three-game sweep Friday night of Ole Miss. The performance earned Mikulik SEC Defensive Player of the Week honors on Monday. Mikulik said she has enjoyed every minute of her relatively new position. “I love it,” she said. “It’s exciting. I get a thrill whenever Kyna [Washington] or Marina [Skender] pounds the ball.” Mikulik, along with seniors Melody Clark, Daniela Romero and Lauren Leaumont, has been a key component in the recent resurgence of the LSU volleyball program. After an 11-19 season in 2003 and a 17-12 season in 2004, the Tigers were co-champions of the SEC West in 2005 along with the Arkansas Lady Razorbacks and were the preseason coaches’ pick to win the division this season. So far that prediction seems to be holding up as LSU is riding a 12-match winning streak on its way to a 14-1 overall record. Mikulik said the success of the team, especially the seniors, is proof that hard work pays off. “It feels great,” she said. “We worked our butts off our freshman and sophomore years and just meshed well together as a team. The seniors have become so close through these four years that nothing can break us.” LSU will try to extend its longest winning streak since 1991 tonight when the team travels to Fayetteville, Ark., for a match against the Razorbacks. Following the Arkansas match, the Tigers will return home for fall break before traveling Sunday to Tuscaloosa, Ala., to face the University of Alabama. Mikulik said hitting the road again after two straight weeks in Baton Rouge does not bother the team. “We don’t worry about it,” she said. “We like the competition.” Flory said she does not expect playing in the middle of the week to affect her team’s normal routine. “It’s difficult because you’re missing classes, but it’s something that we’re used to,” Flory said. “We’ve always played Arkansas mid-week. It’s not anything new. We were chasing them for the last few years, and now we feel like we’ve kinda caught them. We’re going to battle. It’s going to be a war.”
—–Contact Tyler Batiste at [email protected]