LSU’s Pete Maravich Assembly Center — better known as the PMAC — is a sacred building right across North Stadium Drive from the famous Death Valley.
The PMAC is home to many LSU teams, including the volleyball team. The PMAC gives off an indescribable energy that motivates the players. For many games, it is full of proud fans who are always ready to cheer on their favorite team.
Many players find motivation from the energy the crowd gives off. There’s something about playing at home that makes the team play with even more intensity.
This season, LSU is 1-4 in the PMAC and 2-4 away. While the record does not look like much, the Tigers have performed to their highest in Baton Rouge.
“We love the fans, they’re awesome,” junior setter Anna Zwiebel said with a huge smile. “The band really rallies us up. I think it gives us that extra push, that extra fight. And when we see everyone and we hear everyone cheering for us, it’s awesome.”
After four decades, fans and athletes alike seem to have a special place in their hearts for the PMAC. Its presence is like none other and can be seen for miles. The PMAC has an energy that is big enough to fit a football field, but once you’re on the court, it feels a lot more familiar.
Milan Stokes, a junior outside hitter from California, described it as “stepping into your home.” This says a lot considering her actual home is all the way across the nation.
“Away SEC games are always rowdy, but what I love is coming back to Baton Rouge and being able to play in front of our own crowd and feeling that support,” Stokes said. “There’s just nothing like it.”
On the other spectrum, going away from games is rough. Just like the PMAC, other Southeastern Conference schools have the same type of crowd and energy at their games. Away SEC games are always the toughest environment, Stokes explained. It’s a mix of that SEC grit and pride that will try to close in its unsuspecting opponents.
“Away games, it’s the opposite [of home],” Stokes said. “We don’t have that big support system, but I think that also rallies us up. We think about how we’re just gonna show them up, we’re gonna play better and beat them on their own home court.”
LSU faces yet another tough away game as it travels to Oxford this weekend to play Ole Miss.
“We have to play confidently and not try to win,” coach Fran Flory said on the upcoming game. “As we go, things will start multiplying. It has to be a building block and we’re going to make the best of it that we possibly can.”