BATON ROUGE, The. – The LSU volleyball team (3-3) hits the road for the first time this season when they travel to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to face Milwaukee (1-5) and No. 23 Marquette (4-1) Sept. 9-10.
The Tigers will have a 5pm CT game against Milwaukee on Friday at the Klotsche Center before taking on Marquette at 1pm CT at the Al McGuire Center. Highlights of the LSU Milwaukee game will air on ESPN+, while the Marquette game will air on pay-per-view FloSports.
LSU improved to .500 after a 2-1 weekend in the Tiger challenge. The Tigers swept Troy and Iowa State before falling to No. 21 Penn State in straight sets. All three of LSU’s wins this season have come in sweeps of the opposition, and they are holding their opponents to a .160 hitting percentage, the fourth-lowest mark in the SEC. The Tigers also rank second in the league with 15.57 digs per set. Offensively, LSU averages 13.29 kills per set after a .232 hitting percentage, has 12.33 assists per set and 32 total assists.
Outside hitter Sanaa Dotson leads the Tiger offense with 4.00 kills per set (84 total) and seven aces. She also adds 2.48 digs per set and has tallied 13 total blocks. Dotson’s 4.00 kills per set ranks 5th in the SEC and her 4.67 points per set ranks 6th in the conference. Right side Hannah Jacobs follows with 2.52 kills per set (53 total) and has 15 blocks on the year.
Josie Vondran and Maddie Waak continue to share setter duties. Vondrani is averaging 8.12 assists per set (138 total) and has 11 total kills, eight blocks and three assists. Waak is averaging 7.00 assists (91 total) with five assists, four kills and three blocks.
Libero Ella Larkin is the SEC leader with 107 total digs and 5.10 digs per set, which also ranks 25th in all of NCAA Division I volleyball. Middle blockers Anita Anwusi and Alia Williams average 1.05 blocks per set (22 total) to lead the team at the net. Anwusi leads the team with three total solo blocks and has 37 total kills, while Williams has two solo blocks and 26 kills.
Milwaukee starts the season 1-5 on the year and will host LSU for its home opener. The Panthers went 1-2 last weekend in a tournament hosted by Purdue in West Lafayette, Ind. After losing a five-set match to Utah, Milwaukee defeated Bradley 3-1, and then lost 3-1 to then-No. 11 Purdue. As a unit, the Panthers average 11.96 kills per set behind a .206 hitting percentage, while giving up a .263 hitting percentage to their opponents and averaging 1.92 blocks per set.
Outside hitter Madi Malone leads the Panthers with 3.25 kills per set (78 total) and four aces. Middle blocker Ari Miller follows with 2.75 kills per set (66 total) and leads the team with 21 blocks, including three solo. Setters Kaley Blake and Josie Johnson lead the offense with 5.29 and 4.08 assists per set, respectively, and defensive specialist Sarah Schrader leads with 3.83 digs per set.
Marquette is ranked for the second straight week and moves up one spot to No. 23 in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll. The Golden Eagles are 4-1 this season and are on a two-game winning streak after defeating Loyola Chicago on Tuesday night, 3-1. Marquette’s only loss this season was against the defending national champions, No. 6 ranked Wisconsin. Marquette’s strength is their offense which ranks third in the Big East Conference with a .239 hitting percentage and 13.60 kills per set. They also rank fourth with 16.30 digs per set.
Top hitters for the Golden Eagles include outside hitter Aubrey Hamilton (3.00 kills/set) and Ella Foti (2.60 kills/set). Foti is the most efficient with a .356 hitting percentage, followed by Carsen Murray’s .305 hitting percentage with 2.20 kills per set. Murray also leads the team with 14 blocks. Setter Yadhira Anchante leads Marquette with 9.30 assists per set and has eight aces, and defensive specialist Carly Skrabak leads the Big East Conference with 4.95 digs per set.
LSU and Milwaukee will collide for just the second time ever. The Tigers defeated the Panthers in the first meeting on September 17, 2004. LSU is 1-1 all-time against Marquette. The Tigers swept the Golden Eagles in 2006, but Marquette reversed the sweep in the most recent game in 2018. All of the games played against Milwaukee and Marquette have been at a neutral site.
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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