ATLANTA — All-American Angela Knopf recorded a double-double with 16 kills and 15 digs to lead Colorado State, ranked 12th nationally, to a, 30-25, 30-15, 30-23, over the LSU volleyball team on Saturday in the Georgia Tech Classic.
LSU fell to 2-3 on the season while Colorado State improved to 5-0.
“We played a good team today,” said LSU coach Fran Flory. “Colorado State didn’t play to the level they are capable of today, but we weren’t able to capitalize on that. We blew a golden opportunity today.”
The Rams became the first team to out-block the Tigers this season, recording 11 blocks to LSU’s six. Colorado State also hit .319, the highest percentage of a Tiger opponent this season, compared to just .070 for LSU.
“I thought our ball control was much better today than last night, but we didn’t have any finishing ability,” Flory noted. “We can’t have our outside hitters hit a negative percentage and expect to win. A team would have to lose to us for us to get a win in that situation.”
Knopf, who hit .682 on the match, also led all players with seven blocks. Courtney Cox and Katie Jo Shirley each reached double-figures in kills with 14 and 10, respectively.
Rachel Vogt and Addie Prewitt led the Tigers with six kills a piece. Katie Kubena was the defensive leader with seven kills and four blocks, both team highs.
In game one, the Rams raced out to an early 12-6 lead before LSU rallied to score seven unanswered points and take a 17-15 lead in the game. However, Colorado State proved to be too powerful as it won 15 of the next 23 points to win the game.
Knopf paced the Ram attack with five kills and two blocks in the game while Courtney Cox added four kills and four digs. LSU was led by Hampton, Davis and Rachel Vogt, who each notched three kills.
Game two started out close before Colorado State ran off four straight points to take a 13-8 advantage. From there it was all Rams as they ran away with the game. LSU hit -.063 in the game compared with Colorado State’s .382. The Tigers manages just six kills in the game.
Cox led the way for the Rams with five kills while Knopf recorded four to go along with her three blocks.
The third game was much of the same as LSU kept it close until a six point run midway through the frame gave Colorado State a commanding 25-13 lead.
The Tigers face host Georgia Tech on Sunday at 2 p.m. in the tournament finale.