AUBURN, Ala. — LSU finished its regular season with a convincing 30-23, 30-25, 30-18, win over Southeastern Conference rival Auburn on Sunday on the plains.
The win gives LSU (15-9, 10-5 SEC) a fourth-place finish in the conference and second in the division. It is also the third most conference wins for the Tigers in school history and most since 1992.
“I am really proud of the team,” said LSU coach Fran Flory. “This is the first time we have had double-digit wins in the conference in a long time. We have endured a lot this season and the team has been very resilient. To finish the season with two important wins on the road was big for us and I can’t say how proud I am of this group.”
LSU travels to Knoxville, Tenn., next weekend for the SEC Tournament. As the No. 4 seed, LSU faces fifth-seeded Alabama in the first round.
Auburn (1-23, 0-15) finishes winless in conference play for the first time in its history and will not participate in the eight-team tournament.
Outside hitters Jennifer Hampton and Kyra Lancon led LSU with 15 and 11 kills, respectively. Hampton also registered a team-high .480 hitting percentage.
“It was a great job by Jennifer Hampton offensively,” Flory said. “We have been struggling with our outsides in efficiency and I thought she did a really good job today. I challenged her be more efficient and her hitting .480 for the match is very significant.”
Regan Hood sparked the Tigers off the bench with six kills to go along with her match-high seven blocks.
Game one was back and forth until LSU ran off six consecutive points to take a 24-20 lead. Despite an Auburn time out which killed the run, LSU managed to close out the game and take a 1-0 lead on the road.
“We didn’t come in here ready to play and Auburn came out really inspired,” Flory said. “They did some things we weren’t ready for and got us on our heels early. Then we finally got going and picked up our intensity.”
Kyra Lancon and Meagan Davis each had five kills to spark the Tiger offense, which outkilled Auburn 18-12.
LSU gained control early in game two, taking a quick 5-0 lead. Auburn rallied back to cut the lead to two at 12-10 and 15-13, but that was as close as it would get as LSU went up 2-0.
Hampton notched nine of her kills in the second frame in just 12 attempts as the Tigers hit .390. Regan Hood came off the bench for three kills and three blocks in the game. Kathia McKenzie tallied seven kills in the game to keep Auburn close.
Flory earned a yellow card in the game with the Tigers up 7-2 after disputing a ruling. Lauren Cuyler was also forced out of the match with shoulder pain while Auburn initially cut into the lead.
Looking to close out the match in three, LSU raced out to a 6-2 lead in the third stanza. As in game two, Auburn sliced the lead to two. But the visiting Tigers answered by winning 11 of the next 15 points to extend out to a 20-11 advantage.
LSU went up by double-figures at 26-16 en route to closing out the match.