BATON ROUGE, The. – The LSU volleyball team is back in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center and will host South Carolina at 1:00 pm on Sunday, October 23rd. The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.
Sunday’s game will be the Breast Cancer Awareness Game as LSU will honor breast cancer survivors during a designated break. Fans in attendance will receive a free pink towel.
LSU (11-8, 5-4 SEC) is coming off a five-set win at Alabama and improves to 5-2 in SEC play in five-set games. The Tigers are hitting .229 on the season behind 12.88 kills per set and 12.00 assists per set. The Purple and Gold also average 1.14 aces per set and have five players with 10 or more aces this season. LSU’s defense has allowed its opponents a .198 hitting percentage this season (No. 5 in the SEC) and held teams under a .200 hitting percentage 11 times. LSU is also averaging 2.08 blocks per set and 15.03 digs per set (No. 3 in the SEC) this season.
Outside hitter Sanaa Dotson ranks 6th in the SEC and 55th in the NCAA with 3.90 kills per set and her 300 total kills leads the SEC. She also ranks 9th in the conference with 4.33 points per set and leads the team with 15 aces. Outside hitter Paige Flickinger follows with 2.49 kills per set, has 13 aces and averages 2.51 digs per set. Dotson has recorded seven double-doubles this season, including four in the last five games, and Flickinger has three double-doubles in the last four games, including a current streak of two consecutive double-double performances.
Middle blocker Anita Anwusi leads the team with 1.08 blocks per set (83 total) after recording a career-high nine blocks at Alabama. Anwusi has collected 137 total kills on the year (1.78/set).
Setter Josie Vondran averages 7.00 assists per set and has 59 kills, 33 blocks and 12 assists this season. Freshman Maddie Waak has recorded 4.55 assists per set to go along with 13 assists. Waak had her first career double-double with 39 assists and 10 digs at Alabama.
Libero Ella Larkin anchors the defense with a league-best 4.51 digs per set (347 total) and has compiled three 30-plus dig performances this season. Larkin also has 12 aces this season.
South Carolina (10-8, 4-4 SEC) is coming off a five-set win against Mississippi State in Columbia, SC where they are 9-1 on the season. However, on the road, the Gamecocks have a 1-6 record. South Carolina will enter Sunday’s contest averaging 12.28 kills per set and a .211 hitting percentage to go with 11.61 assists per set. Defensively, the Gamecocks allow their opponents a .204 hitting percentage and rank second in the SEC with 2.65 blocks per set.
Outside hitter McKenzie Moorman leads South Carolina with 2.96 kills per set, followed by outside hitter Riley Whitesides with 2.89 kills per set. Setters Claire Wilson and Dalaney Hans average 5.20 and 5.07 assists per set, respectively, and Hans leads the team with 24 assists. The Gamecocks have two middle blockers who rank in the top 10 in the SEC in blocks per set, including Ellie Ruprich (No. 3 – 1.36/set) and Oby Anadi (No. 7 – 1.17/set), and libero Jenna Hampton sits at No. 2 behind LSU’s Larkin with 4.28 digs per set.
LSU leads South Carolina in the all-time series 29-18 and is on a three-game winning streak.
Season tickets for the 2022 LSU volleyball season are now available. Fans interested in becoming a season ticket holder can get more information by clicking here. All tickets will be distributed via mobile devices for faster delivery of tickets to fans, contactless transactions at the gate and more flexibility for ticket holders. For more information on mobile tickets click here.
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