COLUMBIA, S.C. — Cally Plummer recorded a double-double with 19 kills and 13 digs to lead No. 19 South Carolina to a 30-26, 30-24, 28-30, 30-26 victory over LSU in volleyball on Sunday in Columbia.
LSU (10-6, 5-2 SEC), which had its six-match win streak snapped, lost for the first time since Sept. 23 when it fell to Kentucky, 3-0. With the win South Carolina (12-3, 5-3) avoided its first two-match losing streak of the season.
“I wasn’t happy with the way we reacted to a true home court advantage which South Carolina has,” said LSU coach Fran Flory. “The facility and the atmosphere really took us out of what we are good at in terms of our offense. We never adjusted and that’s disappointing. We allowed something outside of the game affect us.”
Three LSU players were in double-figures in kills, led by Meagan Davis’ 12 which came on just 18 attempts. Meghan Bedford and Kyra Lancon each registered 10 kills for the Tigers, which hit just .189 on the day.
Berna Dwyer and Nadia Serrerovich were also in double-figures for USC, which hit .236 for the match, recording 12 and 11, respectively.
After trailing 2-0, the Tigers got back in the match with a game three victory. It was the first time this season LSU has not lost 3-0 after dropping the opening game.
The Tigers raced out to a 14-7 lead in the third stanza and led 21-16 when the Gamecocks called time out. Following the break,, South Carolina ran off five consecutive points to tie the game. LSU answered with a five-point run of their own only to see USC slice the lead to one at 27-26, 28-27 and 29-28. Davis finally put the game away on a swing from the middle.
“It was good to see us come back in game three and get back in sync. And I felt like we had surely had a chance in game four, but we couldn’t come through when it counted,” Flory said.
To open the match, South Carolina took an early 13-8 lead after a six-point run. The Tigers chipped away at the lead and eventually tied the game at 21and again at 24. However, they were never able to take the lead as the Gamecocks held on for the 1-0 advantage.
Plummer, Serrerovich and Dwyer provided all the offense South Carolina would need, combining for 14 kills on just 27 attempts with no errors. Rachel Vogt came off the bench to spark the Tigers with five kills.
The second frame was close early as neither team could pull away. Then a 6-1 run midway through the game gave Carolina an insurmountable 22-16 lead.
Plummer continued her hot play, notching seven kills on just nine swings in the second game. The Tiger offense never really got on track in the second game recording just nine kills with no player hitting for more than three South Carolina never trailed in the fourth game en route to clinching the match. After falling behind 6-1 early, the Tigers were unable to cut the lead below two despite a number of opportunities.
“Every time they had to make a play they made the play. And every time we got the chance, we didn’t come through,” Flory noted. “Where we have been pretty resilient in the past few weeks, today we didn’t have it.”
LSU returns to action this Friday at 7 p.m. when it faces Ole Miss at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.