KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Erin Heffner hit for 25 kills as fifth-seeded Alabama upset fourth-seeded LSU, 30-22, 23-30, 30-27, 30-23, 15-11, in a volleyball war at the Southeastern Conference Tournament on Friday at Knoxville, Tenn.
Trailing 6-4 in the deciding fifth game, Alabama won four consecutive points to take a lead they would not relinquish. After falling behind 10-7 LSU used a time out, but was unable to rally.
“We played hard, but we didn’t play well and you can’t do that against a team like Alabama at this point in the season and expect to get a win,” said LSU coach Fran Flory. “You have to give them credit, they made adjustments from the last match that really slowed down our offense and we didn’t respond to that.”
At 12-10, the Tigers were on the verge of slicing the lead to one as Alabama inadvertently passed the ball over the net setting up an easy LSU kill. However, miscommunication by Lauren Cuyler and Meghan Bedford led to the two colliding and running into the net as the ball fell to the floor on the Alabama side, giving the Crimson Tide a three-point lead, 13-10.
The win is the first for Alabama (21-7) in three tries against LSU (15-10) this season as the Tigers took two regular-season meetings, including one seven days ago. The Tigers remained winless, 0-9, when dropping the first game of the match.
It is the exact reverse scenario from last year when the Crimson Tide won both regular-season battles only to fall in the tournament. It is the first time since the SEC dropped pool play in the tournament that LSU has been eliminated by one of the teams currently in the Western Division.
“It is always hard to beat a team three-times in the same season. You get to know what each other likes to do and executing that becomes much harder,” said Flory.
Alabama’s reward for the five-game victory is a date with top-seeded and seventh-ranked Florida, which went 14-0 in conference play this season en route to a 20-1 overall record, at 2 p.m. ET on Saturday. LSU returns to action on Friday at the Conference Challenge at Orlando, Fla.
In round-robin play, the Tigers will face Notre Dame on Nov. 24 and Virginia Tech on Nov. 25.
“We still have one week left in the season. We need to regroup after this loss and come out and play hard and represent the SEC well,” Flory added.
Heffner, who also had 12 digs and three blocks, was joined by three teammates in double-digit kills. Jennifer Bibber notched 18 while Erin Price had 16 and Shelly Adamcik notched 12. Three of Adamcik’s came in Alabama’s final six points.
LSU, which was outkilled 75-59 and outhit .170-.141, was paced by Jennifer Hampton’s 17 kills. Meghan Bedford and Lauren Cuyler had 12 and 11, respectively. Five Crimson Tide players reached double-figures in digs, led by Adamcik and Kenna Milner’s 14 in forcing the Tigers into the poor hitting percentage.
The Tigers fell to 0-8 this year when hitting below .200. First-team All-SEC member Meagan Davis was contained well by the Tide defense, hitting just .083 with seven kills.
“It is no secret that Meagan has been the focal point of our offense all season long,” Flory noted. “Alabama knew that and they did a nice job of taking her out of the match.”
The first game was all Crimson Tide as it raced out to a commanding 8-1 lead and never looked back. LSU was able to cut the lead to one at 11-10, but would not threaten after that. The Tiger offense was off track, recording just eight kills and a -.059 hitting percentage compared to Alabama’s 16 kills and .229 clip. Heffner’s six kills paced the Tide while no Tiger had more than two.
The Alabama seemed to be on their way to adding to the lead in game two, after taking an early 9-5 lead which eventually was expanded to 16-11. However, LSU fought back to within one, 17-16 and finally tied the game at 20. The teams would trade points until the Tigers ran off seven unanswered to tie the match, 1-1.
Bedford, who did not start the match, came off the bench to lead LSU in the second game with five kills. Lyndsey Benson, who registered 12 digs, held the Tide attack, in check with seven digs in the frame. Alabama had just a .023 hitting percentage in the game.
Game three began as the others with Alabama jumping out to a quick lead, this time 5-1. The Tigers fought back for an 11-11 tie, but could not sustain the run as the lead became four again at 17-13. With a never-say-die attitude, LSU rallied and finally took the lead at 23-22. As the teams traded points down the stretch, the game would be tied six times before the Crimson Tide scored three straight to win the crucial game.
“I thought we did a great job of fighting our way back into the game and giving ourselves a chance to win it. But we didn’t make the plays when we had to. That was the story all day long,” said Flory.
The offenses revved up in the third game as each team registered 18 kills. Alabama was efficient as well, hitting .378, compared to LSU’s .239. The Tiger’s .258 clip in the fourth stanza would be their top output of the day.
The fourth frame was close most of the way with neither team able to take control over the game early. Then, with the game tied at 20-20, the Tigers scored five consecutive points for a 25-20 lead and held on to send the match to a deciding fifth game.