LSU volleyball team primed for action in Penn State Classic after relocating to avoid Hurricane Ida

LSU graduate student Kylie Deberg was named to the All-Tournament team this weekend. Photo courtesy: LSU athletics.

After relocating to Houston due to Hurricane Ida and practicing at the University of Houston this week, LSU’s volleyball team (1-1) will take part in the Penn State Classic with Friday and Saturday matches.

“Our state is full of tough and resilient people,” LSU volleyball coach Fran Flory said. “We know we represent more than just our university. We represent our whole state of Louisiana right now and we are going to play with our whole heart for the state every play.” 

Following the Tigers’ victory over Northern Arizona last Saturday, LSU’s volleyball team caravanned with the football team to Houston on Saturday night and arrived in Texas Sunday morning. Thanks to the University of Houston, LSU was able to practice throughout the early parts of the week in preparation for the Penn State Classic.

“This is a great opportunity,” said Flory. “This is a really strong tournament with some great teams from great conferences.”

LSU will have two matches Friday, first against Iowa State (2-0) at 10 a.m. CT followed by a matchup at 4 p.m. against Oregon State (1-1). The Tigers will face No. 17 Penn State (2-1) in their lone match on Saturday at 7 p.m.

In her first two matches in an LSU uniform last weekend, Missouri transfer and outside hitter Kylie Deberg recorded 25 kills and 19 digs. Right side Taylor Bannister was right behind her with 23 kills and 15 digs. Middle blocker Whitney Foreman finished the weekend with 21 kills and Allee Morris had 12.

“We felt like we could be balanced when we started the season,” Flory said. “Everybody was going to think about Kylie and Taylor, but we really felt like we could be balanced because of the maturation of our middles.

“Allee Morris has really come on. People didn’t see Anita Anwusi (last week), but she’s really improved and she will have a good opportunity this weekend. Whitney Foreman has always been a stabilizer in the middle for us. I think Karli (Rose) did a great job of incorporating them into the offense and we just have to continue to run a balanced offense and then we’ll be really difficult to defend as we mature as a team.”

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