BOULDER, Colo. — The LSU volleyball team beat Central Florida 15-4, 15-9, 15-7, on Sunday morning in the consolation match of the Colorado PowerBar Invitational for the team’s first victory of the season.
The win improved the Tigers to 1-1 while the Golden Knights fell to 0-2.
“This is a good win for us,” said coach Fran Flory. “We wanted to leave her with two wins, but we had to leave with at least one and we accomplished that.”
As a team, LSU hit for 68 kills and an attack percentage of .417 for the match, the highest percentage for a Tiger team since 1996 when LSU hit .451 in a win over Mississippi State. The 68 kills is tied for the third most for an LSU team in a three-game match.
“Offensively, we were very good today. We were able to set our middles and our outsides effectively and score from anywhere on the court. If we can do that the rest of the season, we will be in good shape,” said Flory.
Middle blocker Meagan Davis led the ofensive explosion for the Tigers with 16 kills while outside hitter Meghan Bedford was close behind with 15. Middle blocker Rachel Vogt and outside hitter Jennifer Hampton each had 11 while outside hitter Lauren Cuyler had 10 to give LSU five players with double-digit kills for the match.
“We stayed balanced and that can only be a good thing when you are on offense. Everybody was hitting the ball well today and it shows in the statistics.”
Running the offense was setter Lauren O’Connor, had 61 assists in the match, good enough for second best in school history in a three-game match. The school record is 62 set by Luciana Santana in 1993.
Davis was also a force at the net as she recorded six total blocks, including three solo, in the match to lead all players. Vogt added four blocks, all assisted and Bedford had three, including one solo.
LSU will be in action again on Tuesday as the Tigers travel to Hattiesburg, Miss., for a 7 p.m. match with Southern Miss.