Volleyball Set For LSU And Georgia In Final Road Trip Of The Season - AuburnTigers.com

Volleyball Set For LSU And Georgia In Final Road Trip Of The Season Action begins at 7 p.m., Friday at LSU

Nov. 13, 2008

AUBURN - The Auburn volleyball team (6-21, 1-15 SEC) hits the road for the final time this season as the Tigers travel to LSU and Georgia for a pair of SEC matches. Action in the weekend series is set to begin at 7 p.m., Friday against LSU in the Maravich Assembly Center.

The Tigers are coming off a pair of 3-1 losses last weekend to South Carolina and 12th-ranked Florida. Auburn led early in both matches before falling in come-from-behind efforts.

The road swing is the last leg of a four-match trip that has kept the Tigers out of the Student Activities Center since Nov. 2. But, even being on the road, Auburn head coach Wade Benson likes the challenges in front of his team.

"As the season has gone on, we have made some great improvements and we have been challenging every team in the conference," said Benson. "We have struggled some in closing out matches and sets, but all the components are there for us. We just have to put it together."

Auburn opens at LSU (14-9, 9-7 SEC), a team that currently leads the SEC West. LSU is coming off a pair of home wins last weekend against Alabama (3-1) and Mississippi State (3-0).

"LSU is a very physical team, but they have some injuries they are dealing with right now, just like everyone else, so it can be anyone's match," said Benson. "We played them pretty close when they were in Auburn and we definitely have a chance to go down there and steal one from them."

LSU swept Auburn in the meeting earlier this season. AU stayed with the Bayou Bengals, losing two of the sets by three points, but could not pull out a win in the 3-0 (22-25, 15-25, 22-25) loss.

Following Friday's match, Auburn heads to Athens, Ga., for a match against the Bulldogs (15-12, 8-8 SEC). UGA has struggled to get any additions in the win column in the past two weeks, winning only one of its past four matches.

"Georgia has been very up-and-down lately, but they are a very good, very dangerous team," said Benson. "They swing block and have several very good players and it will be interesting to see how we do against them."

The Bulldogs squeaked out the 3-2 (21-25, 25-20, 25-21, 22-25, 15-10) win earlier this season in Auburn. The Tigers had to come from behind to force the fifth set, but a strong Bulldog effort to open gave the Bulldogs the advantage for the win.

Weekend action begins at 7 p.m., Friday at LSU. Live stats will be available for the match at www.LSUSports.net. Auburn returns to the court at 12:30 p.m. CT, Sunday for the weekend finale against Georgia. Live stats for the match can be found at www.Georgiadogs.com.