TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The LSU volleyball team’s attempt at a weekend sweep of the state of Alabama was thwarted on Sunday when the University of Alabama downed the Tigers 15-10, 17-15, 11-15, 15-0, in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
LSU falls to 6-7 on the year, including a 1-2 Southeastern Conference mark. The Crimson Tide, which picked up its second win of the weekend, improved to 13-4 with a 3-1 conference mark.
“I think we fought really hard and just ran out of gas. This is a great learning experience,” said LSU coach Fran Flory. “We did what we could and played really hard. But the bottom line is we didn’t get it done when we needed to.”
For the second match in a row, outside hitter Meghan Bedford notched a double-double to lead the Tigers. She killed 12 balls while digging a team-high 10. She added four blocks, including one solo. Middle blocker Meagan Davis had a team high 15 kills and .387 attack percentage as she sparked the Tiger offense.
For Alabama, Monica Morales and Michelle Green were the Tiger killers on the afternoon as Morales recorded a double-double with 15 kills and 14 digs and Green had a match-high 21 kills.
The Tigers opened the match quickly by taking a 10-6 lead in game one. From that point, it was all Crimson Tide as Alabama ran off nine straight points to take a one game lead. Green paced the Tide attack with five kills.
Game two proved to be one of streaks. The Crimson Tide began the game right where they left off in game one by taking the first five points. LSU immediately regrouped and cut the lead to 5-4, only to see Alabama run off five more points. Again, the Tigers responded, this time with eight unanswered for a 12-10 lead. After a back and forth struggle to finish the game, Alabama fought off three game points and emerged with a two-games-to-none lead.
“Game two cost us the match. I think if we win game two we win the match,” said Flory. “You can only pick yourself up and play harder so many times and we fought really hard. To lose it 17-15 and then win game three is a great effort for us.”
Bedford led the LSU attack with six kills in the game. Morales and Green notched seven and six for Alabama, respectively.
In game three, the Tigers raced out to a 13-7 lead only to see the Crimson Tide steal the momentum and cut the deficit to two. However, at 13-11, LSU won a rally that lasted well over a minute to regain its momentum and carry them to the game victory.
Davis, who had left briefly in game two after banging her knee, returned to lead the Tigers with six kills and two blocks in the game. Green was again the star for Alabama with six kills.
The Crimson Tide were clicking on all cylinders in game four as they shutout the Tigers in a game for the second year in a row. Alabama had 15 kills in the game to only three for LSU.
“Game three was a great effort for us, but we were just beat up and didn’t have anything left for the end of that match. We got caught up in the big picture instead of taking it one point at a time and when you do that you lose sight of what you are trying to accomplish and you don’t execute as well,” said Flory.
LSU returns home next weekend for a pair of SEC matches. The Tigers will face Kentucky on Friday at 7 p.m. and Tennessee on Sunday at 2 p.m.