TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A powerful hitting performance and strong blocking by the LSU volleyball team gave the Tigers a 3-1 victory over Louisiana-Lafayette, 30-22, 30-28, 30-32, 30-17, on Saturday morning to close out at the Florida State Invitational in the Lucy McDaniel Arena at Tully Gymnasium.
The Tigers improve to 7-3 on the year and 2-1 in the tournament, while Louisiana-Lafayette falls to 6-7 and 1-2 in the tournament.
Cara Causey led the way for LSU with 17 kills and a .438 hitting percentage, while recording a team-high four blocks. Jennifer Hampton added 16 kills and 13 digs, while hitting at a .455 clip. Megan Heinz also recorded double-figures in kills with 15, while Rachel Vogt had 13 kills for the Tigers. Collectively, LSU hit .352 for the match, while recording seven blocks.
“I think this was a nice comeback after the tough loss last night,” said LSU head coach Fran Flory. “I was proud of they way we played today. Ravel Vogt really stepped up her play defensively and our blocking proved to be a positive note for the match. Also, Cara Causey proved that she is a great player and should be on the court for this team.”
In the first game the Tigers came out swinging. With the game tied at five, the Tigers took charge, going on a 13-5 run to open up an eight-point lead.
LSU kept pounding away and getting key blocks to extend the lead to 11 points, the largest margin of the match. At game point for the Tigers, ULL did score four straight to cut the lead to seven before LSU put the game away, 30-22.
In the second game, the match remained close most of the way, with no team able to gain more than a three-point advantage at any point. ULL held the early lead, going up 8-5, but the Tigers rallied to tie the game at 11.
Neither team gained more than a two-point lead after than until LSU mounted what proved to be the winning run with the scored tied at 25. Causey came away with a big kill up the middle off the over pass by ULL resulting from an excellent serve by Regan Hood.
The Tigers then went up by three before a controversial call on what appeared to be a service ace by Hood gave the point and the serve back to the Lady Cajuns. LSU would not falter, however, and Causey slammed the ball home for the games final point to give the Tigers the 30-28 win.
In the third game, LSU seemed to take control, pulling away from ULL midway through the game. With the Tigers leading 13-12, a 7-4 run put LSU ahead by four points. The Tigers improved their lead to six points and appeared to have the game and the match won, holding game point at 29-23, but the Lady Cajuns would no go away.
ULL fought off five game-points and scored six straight points to tie the game at 29. LSU finally broke the Lady Cajun run to once again serve for the match, but could not close it out. ULL tied the game and then scored two straight to fight off elimination and send the match to a fourth game, 32-30.
The Tigers came out swinging and dominated in game four. After a 2-2 tie, the Tigers went on an 8-4 run to take a four-point lead. A 10-5 run followed, giving LSU the nine-point advantage and the Tigers never looked back, taking the game and the match, 30-17.
LSU returns home to open SEC play against Arkansas on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. The Tigers will then host Tennessee on Friday at 7 p.m. in a match that will be televised tape delayed on FoxSports Southwest in Baton Rouge.