The LSU Tigers volleyball team is on the road to Houston this weekend, taking on the Flo Hyman Classic put on by the University of Houston. Will this be the redemption tournament for the Tigers after falling 1-2 opening weekend?
Starting on Thursday evening, the first match will see a face-off between the University of Omaha and the LSU Tigers. This tough matchup will feature a strong team in the Summit League, and one that made an appearance in the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
This season has started off strong for the Mavericks with a 2-0 record after beating Milwaukee twice in straight sets. Omaha delivered a dominant performance on both offense and defense, notably hitting at a .349 clip. The Tigers will have to play sharp in what will be a nail-biter until the final minute.
Next on the schedule will be San Diego State University on Friday afternoon, sitting at a 1-1 record after an opening loss to Cal Berkley in a close four-set match. Not staying down for too long, the Aztecs bounced back the next day with a sweep against the University of San Francisco. They saw a bright turnaround after dropping the match to Cal over simple errors.
The most recent appearance in the NCAA Tournament for SDSU was in 2012, but this team has a balanced roster of new talent and returning players that can all bring something to the court.
One of the most notable Aztec players is senior outside hitter Taylor Underwood. Underwood had 356 kills alone last season to contribute to her 972 career kills. She will be someone to look out for at the net. Matched with her talent, LSU players Jurnee Robinson and Nia Washington can respond with kills on the opposite side.
The final opponent of the tournament for LSU will be the Houston Cougars. Houston has made its presence known in recent years, including an AAC championship in 2022 and NCAA Tournament appearances in 2022 and 2023.
That firepower doesn’t seem to be slowing down, as the Cougars start the season with a 3-0 record. They also recorded a perfect set performance after not dropping a single set across three matches for the first time in the NCAA era.
This was accomplished because of standout players like senior setter Lottie Scully, who accounted for 25 of the team’s 29 assists against Bryant in the latest match. Houston hit .343 in comparison to Bryant’s .038 clip.
Although there are strong performances from the Cougars, there are nine new faces, which include five freshmen and four transfers. While LSU is seeing a strong transfer class, there are still lots of returners. The team chemistry is something that will ultimately help the winning team in the end when one last push is needed to finish the match.
Ahead of this weekend, the Flo Hyman Classic is in honor of Flo Hyman, the first-ever female athlete to receive an athletic scholarship at Houston.
Heading into this weekend, if the Tigers’ defense can stay on top of the smaller details, there is a good chance of being able to bounce back after some tough losses to a couple ranked teams.
