NEW ORLEANS — Three Tigers hit for double-digit kills to lead the LSU volleyball team to a season-opening win over Tulane at the Nokia Sugar Bowl, 30-26, 30-25, 30-20.
“We started real anxious. We were a little tense instead of intense,” said LSU head coach Fran Flory. “I think we did a lot of things really well. We proved we have some finishing power and that we will be a force blocking and that our defense has come around.”
LSU stands at 1-0 on the year while Tulane fell to 0-2, having lost to New Orleans earlier in the day.
“Now we just have to continue to get better and better in our system,” Flory added. “But any win is a good win and we hope we began a great weekend for the Tigers tonight.”
Meagan “Snoop” Davis was dominating for the Tigers as she recorded a team-high 15 kills en route to a .577 attack percentage. Even more impressive, she did not have a hitting error in the match. She added six blocks, which also led the team.
“Snoop hurt her knee in the preseason and this is really the first time we have let her jump in about a week and a half. So, Snoop wasn’t even the best she could be tonight, and that was pretty good,” Flory said.
Meghan Bedford was the defensive stopper with a team-high 12 digs. She also had four blocks.
“Bedford has worked really hard to play defense and she deserves, in her senior year, to do that. She had great digs and great plays and we need her on the court to be a back row option,” Flory said. “That is an improvement we had to have to take the step the next level and she?s proven she can do that.”
LSU hit .290 overall to Tulane?s .134 and out-killed the Green Wave, 51-42. The Tigers also doubled Tulane in blocks, 10-5, while holding a 7-1 advantage in aces.
The first game went back and forth before LSU seized control late in the frame. Behind six kills from both Bedford and Davis, the Tigers took game one 30-26. Davis’ performance came on just nine attempts. Tulane was led by Hurst, who tallied seven kills.
Game two also began tightly before the Tigers could take control late. Behind Lauren Cuyler and Jennifer Hampton, who each hit for five kills in the game, LSU went up 2-0. Bedford continued to pace the Tiger defense as she notched five kills in the game. As a team LSU hit .385 for the game with 17 kills to just two errors. Tulane managed just a .180 clip. Hurst had six kills in the game for the Green Wave.
The Tigers controlled game three from the opening serve and extended the lead to double digits at, 25-15, and hung on for a 30-20 win.
The Tigers will be in action twice on Saturday at the Sugar Bowl, against Baylor at 12:30 p.m. and New Orleans at 5:30 p.m. The Bears and Privateers are both 1-0 on the season.