BATON ROUGE — The LSU volleyball team picked up its 10th win in its last 12 matches on Sunday by beating Mississippi State, 30-21, 30-24, 21-30, 30-21, at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
The win extended LSU’s home win streak to seven, the longest since early in the 1995 season. It also marked the first time since the Southeastern Conference went to divisions in 1994 that the Tigers have won six consecutive matches over Western Division foes.
“It’s a good win for us. We got to play some people in some different situations and they did a good job for the most part,” said LSU coach Fran Flory. “Now we have to focus on the challenge at hand, which is Florida on Wednesday.”
The Tigers (11-6, 7-2 Southeastern Conference) were led by a balanced offensive attack which produced 61 kills and a .202 hitting percentage.
Leading the way was middle blocker Lauren Cuyler who notched a season-high 12 while hitting .478.
“We know our middle blockers are going to be a factor,” Flory said. “Cuyler was amazing blocking in game one and Meagan (Davis) did a great job offensively coming back after a slow start. It’s nice to see our middles develop and be a better and more effective part of our offense.”
Outside hitter Kyra Lancon tied Cuyler for the team lead with 12 kills and right side hitter Meghan Bedford recorded 11, giving LSU three players in double-figures.
Davis, who recorded the first triple-double by a Tiger in over a decade on Friday, started slowly, recording just three kills in the first two games.
She roared back in game four with five kills and a pair of blocks.
Mississippi State (6-12, 1-8), which lost to the Tigers for the seventh consecutive time, had two players in double-figures, led by Jennifer Rousey’s 15. However, the Bulldog offense struggled for most of the afternoon, managing to hit over .100 in just one game while finishing the day with a .080 clip.
The LSU defense played a large part in Mississippi State offensive woes as it racked up 89 kills, one shy of its season high, and 13 blocks, seven of which came in the opening game. Jenny Greco registered a team season-high 22 while Bedford had a career-high 19.
Cuyler and Lancon did most of the damage at the net combining for five team blocks, including two solo. Mississippi State had just five team blocks as a team.
LSU led just 16-14 in the first game before Cuyler and Lancon took over. The tandem recorded the five kills and two blocks in the next nine points as the Tigers stretched out to a commanding 24-15 lead.
The Bulldogs were in position to tie the match at 1-1 in the second game, leading 22-20. However, a serving error and a trio of hitting errors within a five-play span proved costly as LSU moved out to a 2-0 lead.
Game three was all Mississippi State. The Bulldogs never trailed and took advantage of Meagan Davis and Cuyler sitting on the bench as they held the Tigers to a .022 hitting percentage in the frame.
“The problem we ran into in game three is that the people that were on the court did not take care of business,” Flory noted. “Our passing and ball control were not that good.”
With Davis and Cuyler back in the lineup, LSU stormed out to a 9-2 lead and never looked back in clinching the match. The lead hit double-digits, 22-12, on a kill by Jennifer Hampton, who just missed a double-double with nine kills and 13 digs.
The Tigers will be back in action on Wednesday when they welcome ninth-ranked Florida to the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. The Gators are the 10-time defending SEC champions.