BATON ROUGE — Playing in front of the largest crowd of the year, the LSU volleyball team turned in 10 performances that rank in the top three in LSU history en route to a 15-13, 15-6, 15-12, victory over Mississippi State on Friday night.
The win was No. 150 in LSU head coach Fran Flory‘s career and the 40th at LSU.
Individually, the Tigers had four players with record nights led by setter Katie Kubena who set an LSU record for assists in a three-game match with 65, which is also a new season high for the team. Kubena added a career-high 18 digs to record a double-double.
Kubena spent most of the night setting outside hitter Meghan Bedford who tied a school record with 52 attempts in a three-game match. Of the those shots, 23 went for kills, compared to only one error for a .423 attack percentage, which ranks second all-time at LSU. The 23 kills marks the third time in the past five matched Bedford has hit for at least 20 kills.
Bedford also had a career-high 13 kills in recording her third double-double of the year, all coming in the past five matches. Her six blocks tied a career-high.
On the defensive side of the ball, outside hitter Jennifer Hampton set a season-high for the team as well as a new career high with 25 digs in the match. That number ranks second in LSU history for digs in a three-game match. Hampton added 12 kills to notch her eighth double-double, including her fourth in her past five matches.
Outside hitter Lauren Cuyler also placed herself in the record book with eight blocks in a three-game match which is tied for second in Tiger history. More impressively, all eight came in game one.
Almost overshadowed by all the new records was middle blocker Meagan Davis who hit for a season-high 18 kills on only 30 attempts for a .567 attack percentage, also a season high. Davis added five blocks to her offensive output.
As a team, LSU outhit, outdug and outblocked the Bulldogs to move to 8-8 on the year, with a 3-3 conference mark.
The 71 kills put up by the Tigers, compared to only 62 for State, ranks second in school history while the 95 digs LSU recorded, compared to only 76 for the Bulldogs, is a new school record. In setting up the 71 kills, the Tigers had 68 assists with topped the old mark of 65.
In outblocking Mississippi State 13 to 4, LSU recorded 26 block assists, which is tied for third all-time in Tiger history. The 13 total blocks is a new season high.
The Tigers face Ole Miss on Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.