BATON ROUGE, The. – The LSU volleyball team (1-2) will host its second straight weekend tournament as they welcome Troy (2-1), Iowa State (1-2) and No. 21 Penn State (3-0) at the 2022 Tiger Challenge Sept. 2-3 inside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center (PMAC).
The Tigers kick off the weekend with a 10:00 a.m. game on Friday, September 2 against Troy before closing out the day with a 7:30 p.m. kickoff against Iowa State. LSU will close out the weekend with a 3:00 p.m. contest against its first ranked opponent of the season, No. 21 Penn State.
LSU is coming off a 1-2 weekend in the Tiger Classic. After defeating Samford in the season opener, the Tigers lost a four-set match to Houston and a five-set match to Rice. Overall, the newly rebuilt team showed positive signs as they outhit their opponents .224-.187 and recorded more kills (165-137) and digs (195-167) than their opponents.
Outside hitter Sanaa Dotson paced the Tiger attack with 4.33 kills per set (52 total) and had four aces. Dotson opened the season with her first LSU career double-double with 15 kills and 11 digs against Samford, and reached LSU’s career-high 21 kills with a .319 hitting percentage and a career-best three aces against Rice. Right side Hannah Jacobs followed with 3.00 kills per set (36 total) and had 10 total blocks on the weekend. Outside hitter Samarah Hill rounded out the top hitters with 2.50 kills per set (25 total) and averaged 2.10 digs.
Josie Vondran and Maddie Waak split setter duties last weekend. Vondrani got most of the reps and averaged 9.30 assists per set in 10 sets and had a 38-assist weekend against Rice. Waak, a true freshman, made her collegiate debut against Houston and had 28 assists in the game. Waak finished the weekend with 10.25 assists per set in four sets played.
Libero Ella Larkin finished last weekend as the SEC leader with 65 total digs and 5.42 digs per set, highlighted by a career-high 34 digs against Rice. Middle blocker Anita Anwusi also anchored the defense at the net with 1.00 blocks per set (12 total) and 1.75 kills per set (21 total).
Troy will enter the Tiger challenge on a two-game winning streak. After being swept by Georgia on Friday in their first game of the Classic City Clash in Athens, Ga., the Trojans bounced back Saturday with a 3-2 win over Santa Clara and cruised past Chattanooga in four sets Saturday. Outside hitter Tori Hester led Troy last weekend with 4.58 kills per set and had five aces, while outside hitter Amiah Butler followed with 3.36 kills per set. Senior setter Amara Anderson dished out 10.75 assists per set (129 total) and grabbed seven kills and four assists.
Iowa State began its season at the Rumble in the Rockies tournament in Laramie, Wyo., where they were defeated by No. 18 Creighton, defeated tournament host Wyoming, 3-1, and fell to Wichita State, 3-2 to end the weekend. Outside hitter Eleanor Holthaus led the charge offensively for ISU with 3.50 kills per set and a .313 hitting percentage. Outside hitter Mariah Mitchell averaged 2.73 kills per set and 1.09 blocks per set in the tournament. Middle blocker Alexis Engelbrecht led the Cyclones defense with 1.17 blocks per set that included three solo blocks.
Penn State hosted the Penn State Invitational last weekend, where they came away undefeated after defeating UConn and defeating Loyola (Md.) and West Virginia, 3-1. Outside hitter Kashauna Williams led the Nittany Lions with 3.14 kills per set and a .375 hitting percentage, while also contributing 1.14 blocks per set. Williams joins a trio of players who finished the weekend averaging better than 1.00 blocks per set, including middle blockers Allie Holland (1.64/set) and Taylor Trammell (1.18/set). Outside hitter Zoe Weatherington led the way with 31 total kills and averaged 2.82 kills per set with a .302 hitting percentage, and setter Seleisa Elisaia dished out 112 total assists (10.18/set), recorded 10 kills, 10 blocks and averaged 2.64 goals. established.
LSU is 4-14 all-time against the field of the 2022 Tiger Challenge tournament. The Tigers are 0-1 against Troy, 2-2 against Iowa State and 2-11 against Penn State. LSU will host Troy and Iowa State for the first time ever, while Penn State returns to Baton Rouge since 2006.
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