NEW ORLEANS — Led by a pair of double-double performances by tournament Most Valuable Player Jennifer Hampton, the Tiger volleyball team completed the sweep of the Sugar Bowl Classic with wins over New Orleans, 30-25, 30-14, 23-30, 30-27, and Tulane, 30-24, 30-21, 30-23, on Saturday in Fogelman Arena on Tulane’s campus.
Joining Hampton on the all-tournament team were teammates Lauren Cuyler and Katie Kubena as the Tigers improved to 5-1 on the year. UNO went winless in the tournament and remained winless on the season at 0-5. With the loss, Tulane dropped to 4-4 on the year.
“Overall this was a good weekend for us,” said LSU head coach Fran Flory. “In the first match against UNO we did a better job than Friday night, but we still did not come out with the “Eye of the Tiger’ type of fight that we need to have.
“Tonight we played hard and fought to the finish on each play regardless of the score,” Flory continued. “We did not rely on them for anything and took control of the game on our own terms. It was a great intrastate match and I am glad we got the win.”
Against Tulane, Hampton led the way for LSU with 13 kills, 12 digs and three service aces, while Regan Hood added 12 kills and three blocks. Cuyler dominated defensively for the Tigers at the net with five blocks, three of them solo efforts. Kubena recorded 44 assists and 13 digs in the match.
LSU opened the match by taking the first game from the Green Wave, 30-24.
After Tulane kept the match close until 19-18, the Tigers used a 6-1 run top open the lead before close out the game on a monster kill up the middle by Hood.
LSU dominated the second game using powerful hitting and key blocking. The Tigers opened an 11-6 lead before extending the lead to 20-13. Tulane did manage to score a few more, but LSU matched the Green Wave on the way to a 30-21 win.
In the third game, neither team took advantage until midway through the match. With the score tied at 17, the Tigers took control, pounding away at the Green Wave. Rachel Pittman sealed the win on an ace at match point to give LSU the 30-23 victory.
Against UNO, Hampton recorded the only double-double of the match, with a game-high 20 kills on a .364 hitting percentage with a game-high 14 digs.
Freshmen Cara Causey and Megan Heniz each recorded double-figures in kills with 13 and 12 respectively.
Kubena led the team with 44 assists, while Cuyler recorded a pair of solo blocks and a block assist to lead the match. She also recorded a .429 hitting percentage with nine kills.
The Tigers came out on fire to start the match, taking a commanding 20-7 lead on the Privateers. Just as LSU seemed to have the match in hand, 28-12, UNO mounted a tremendous comeback. The Privateers scored 13 of the next 14 points, including a 9-0 run, to cut the lead to four, 29-24, before a service error ended the game with the Tigers on top 30-25.
LSU took control of New Orleans early and did not allow the Privateers to rally in game two. After UNO got as close as 12-9, the Tigers went on an 18-5 run to close out the game easily, 30-14.
Poor hitting caused problems for the Tigers in the third game. The Privateers took the lead early, but kept the game close. After the score was tied at 15, New Orleans went on a 10-2 run to break the game open. The Tigers attempted to rally, but fell short as UNO went on to take game three, 30-23.
After the fourth game went back and forth for much of the start, the Tiger took a five-point advantage 18-13. New Orleans then rallied back to tie the game at 20 and take the lead 22-21 on poor serving by LSU. After a Tiger timeout, LSU rallied back to retake the lead and go on to put the match away, 29-27, on a kill by Megan Heinz.
The Tigers return to Baton Rouge to open the home schedule next Friday at 7 p.m. against Florida A&M in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.