The LSU volleyball team has lost three of their last five conference matches, but the two wins have pretty much secured the Tigers a spot in the Southeastern Conference Tournament.
Melissa Reynaud, LSU Associate Sports Information director, said the Tigers are now playing for a position in the eight-team tournament. She said this weekend’s games against Arkansas and Alabama will not greatly affect LSU’s standings in the conference.
“It won’t affect where we stand in the SEC because we can’t catch Alabama and Arkansas in the [Western Division] but it would affect our standing for the tournament.”
Reynaud said the Tigers are currently caught in a three-way tie for sixth place in the SEC with South Carolina and Kentucky. All three teams post a 6-8 conference record.
Kentucky moved up this weekend with a win against Tennessee. The Vols, who rank No. 4 in the SEC, lost 3-1 to the Wildcats last Friday in Lexington.
Tennessee then traveled to Columbia, S.C. last Sunday and beat the Gamecocks.
The Tigers are hoping to finish above South Carolina and Kentucky in order to have a better seed in the tournament, Reynaud said. She said Florida, who is No. 1 in the SEC, will face the No. 8 seed. Arkansas, as the No. 2 team, will take on the No. 7 seed.
LSU lost Sunday to Florida and fell to Arkansas on Sept. 24.
The SEC tournament is set for Nov. 21 and is a single elimination tournament.
LSU’s Regan Hood currently ranks No. 3 in the SEC in kills per game with 4.33. Hood, who previously ranked No. 1, was passed by Erin Heffner from Alabama and Julia Petruschke from Georgia. Heffner took the lead in conference kills with an average of 4.71 per game while Petruschke turned in a 4.38 average to push past Hood to second.
Petruschke also was named SEC Player of the Week after hitting .481 against the Tigers last Friday. She recorded 5.29 kills per game last week.
The Georgia Bulldogs went 1-1 last weekend to move to 8-6 in conference play. They are now tied with Tennessee for fourth in the SEC.