Halfway through its Southeastern Conference schedule, LSU’s volleyball team continues to flip the script.
The Tigers tallied a 7-12 overall record, coupled with a 2-6 conference record.
But the Tigers are still 0-10 in the PMAC.
LSU coach Fran Flory and the Tigers said they hope round two of SEC play will have a better outcome than the first.
“We’re at a point in the season where we can respond one of two ways,” Flory said. “We can sulk over how tough the conference is, or we can realize that we’re awfully close to where we need to be.”
Missouri, Florida and Kentucky — all ranked in the top 25 in Ratings Percentage Index — highlight the remainder of LSU’s schedule.
The Tigers will rematch six teams in their final seven weeks of play, and the team hopes its prior experiences will translate to success.
“We’re going to see a lot of familiar teams in this next round of conference play,” said sophomore defensive specialist Katie Kampen. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to see some improvement this time around.”
“We’ve watched the film on the team we’ve played, and we’ve watched how they have adjusted as the season has gone on,” Flory added. “We know what mistakes we made the first time around, and that’s what our focus has been on.”
LSU’s volleyball players are optimistic about the team’s chances in the latter half of SEC play, regardless of its record thus far.
“Despite our record, I think we stack up well with the competition,” said sophomore outside hitter Toni Rodriguez. “We’ve hung around with a lot of these teams, and if it wasn’t for a few miscues here and there some of the outcomes are completely different.”
Flory attributes many of the early season miscues as growing pains for a young team in an elite conference. In fact, 11 of LSU’s 15 players have less than two years of experience on the team.
However, with 19 games under their belt, the Tigers can no longer use their inexperience as an excuse.
“At this point in the season, a lot of us have seen significant playing time, so we should know what to expect,” Kampen said. “We still have a lot of growing left to do, but we’re certainly gaining confidence.”
With 10 games left in the regular season, the freshmen on the 2016 team have amassed a combined total of 225 sets played. The 2015 team’s freshman finished the year with a total of 291 sets played.
LSU’s next conference match will be on the road against Missouri on Oct. 19 in the Hearnes Center.