HAMMOND, La. – The two-time reigning Southland Conference champion Southeastern Louisiana University volleyball team will continue an eight-match road swing with three matches on tap this week.
The Lady Lions (5-0) will look to build on their undefeated start to the
Lee McBride Era, starting the week in Mobile, Ala. with two matches at the Jaguar Invitational. The tourney starts Thursday with SLU taking on host South Alabama (2-3) at 6 p.m.
Southeastern will come back Friday to face Tulane (4-2) at 1 p.m. to close out its tournament slate. The Lady Lions then head to Baton Rouge Sunday to face LSU (5-2) at 2 p.m. Thursday's match will air on ESPN+, while Sunday's contest can be seen on SEC Network+.
SLU comes into the week's action ranked fourth nationally with 3.16 blocks per set as a team. Reigning SLC Defensive Player of the Week
India Bennett leads the nation with 2.16 blocks per set, while also ranking fourth in Division I with a team-high 41 total blocks for Southeastern.
Lexi Gonzalez's team-best 4.37 digs per set are good for fourth in the conference, while
Alexis Logarbo is third in the Southland with 1.28 blocks per set.
The Southeastern offense is paced by
Kyra McKelvey, who is leading the league with 3.95 kills per set, a .406 hitting percentage and 4.32 points per set.
Ashley Richardson (6.05 assists per set) and
Peyton Stokley (5.79 aps) have capably split setter duties for the Lady Lions.
SLU's attack will face several tough challenges this week, starting with a South Alabama squad that leads the Sun Belt Conference with 2.72 blocks per set behind league individual leader Alexa Standberg (1.39). Sarah Gooch (3.11 kills per set), Anna Lobert (6.44 assists per set) and Briana Wilson (4.44 digs per set) are the other leaders for the Jaguars, who Southeastern defeated, 3-1, last season in Hammond.
Tulane enters the week on a four-match win streak and ranks in the top 20 nationally in digs per set (16.50, 19
th) and total digs (429, 13
th). Avery Burks is ninth in Division I with 107 total kills and enters the week with a team-high 4.12 kills per set and 114.5 points. Zoe Rachow (6.40 assists per set) and Katherine Crosley (5.26 aps). Friday will be the first meeting between the Green Wave and Lady Lions since 2022 with Southeastern having won the previous three meetings.
LSU awaits Sunday, having won its last four matches, including a 3-0 sweep at Notre Dame Tuesday. The Tigers are currently among the national leaders in assists (334, 11
th), kills (353, 16
th) and blocks (64, 18
th). Jurnee Robinson paces LSU, leading the nation with 146.0 points, while also ranking among the DI leaders in kills (131, 2
nd), kills per set (5.04, 4
th) and points per set (5.62, 6
th).
Next up for Southeastern following the busy week is next week's Texas A&M Invitational to close out the team's road swing. Thursday will see SLU face the host Aggies at 6 p.m. with SLU wrapping up the tournament with a 3 p.m. match versus Loyola Marymount Friday and a noon match Saturday versus New Hampshire. Thursday's match at Texas A&M will air on SEC Network+.
DIGGIN' IT CLUB / S CLUB
Fans interested in becoming active supporters of the Southeastern volleyball program are encouraged to join the Diggin' It Club. Lion volleyball alums are encouraged to join the exclusive S Club, which is restricted to Southeastern athletic letter winners.
All membership fees and donations to both the Diggin' It Club and S Club (volleyball) are available for the exclusive use of the Southeastern volleyball program. Membership information is available by contacting the Lion Athletics Association at
laa@southeastern.edu or (985) 549-5091 or visiting
www.LionUp.com.
SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on Lady Lions Volleyball, follow @LionUpVB on X and Instagram or like /SLUathletics on Facebook.
