DENTON, Texas — The LSU volleyball team won the Mean Green Classic with a pair of wins on Saturday, sweeping UTEP, 30-27, 30-28, 30-16, before coming from behind to win a four-game match from host North Texas, 10-30, 30-21, 30-28, 30-26, on Saturday in The Snake Pit.
With the wins the Tigers improve to 5-7 on the season and finish the tournament 2-1. UTEP dropped to 5-8 on the year and finished 0-3 in the tournament. North Texas fell to 9-7 on the year and was 2-1 in the tournament.
Junior Regan Hood was named to the tournament’s Most Valuable Player and Megan Heinz was named to the all-tournament team for LSU. Hood averaged 4.91 kills per game with 13 blocks and 25 digs. Heinz averaged 3.18 kills per game with 16 digs.
“Today was a really important step forward for this program,” said LSU head coach Fran Flory. “We battled back after a poor outing yesterday. I think we have finally found our personality and our lineup. That’s what our pre-conference schedule is all about, finding your identity. This was great preparation for the start of conference play next week.
“Although we are a team made up of mostly freshman, we are now a veteran team,” Flory continued. “Our freshmen have earned the right to say that they are now veterans.”
Against UTEP, Hood led the match for the Tigers with her third double-double of the season. The senior had 13 kills and 10 digs along with two block solos. Lauren Leaumont recorded her third-straight double-double with 10 kills and 10 digs, giving her five double-doubles on the season.
Freshman Kassi Mikulik had a career-high 12 kills for LSU, while Heinz had a team-high four blocks. Markeisha Constant had a career-type match for the Tigers. The redshirt freshman hit at a .625 clip with 10 kills and three blocks.
As a team, LSU recorded its highest percentage of the season, hitting at a .385 clip for the match. That marks is tied for the fourth highest mark in school history in a four-game match, equaling the .385 against Ball State on Aug. 4, 1993. The record is .430 recorded against Alabama on Nov. 23, 1990, which also ranks 12th in NCAA history.
Falling behind in the first game, 13-5, the Tigers would not go away. LSU fought back to tie the game on a kill by Daniela Romero before taking its first lead, 19-18, on a service ace by Christie Ruttley. The Tigers would extend their lead to four points, 28-24, before taking the game on a kill by Hood, 30-27.
In the second game, LSU jumped out early, 3-0, and would lead by as many as five, 16-11. UTEP would come to take the lead, 23-22. With the score tied at 27, back-to-back kills by Mikulik gave the Tigers the lead for good. Hood then put the game away on a kill, 30-28, to give LSU the two-game advantage.
LSU stormed out to an early 7-1 lead in the third game. The Tigers extended the lead to 11-3 before the Miners cut it back to 11-6. A 4-0 run gave LSU extended the lead to 15-6. With the Tigers leading 16-11, LSU went on an 8-1 run to pull away, 24-12, capped off by a service ace by Romero. A 6-3 run closed out the match as Mikulik put down the kill to end the game, 30-16.
In the nightcap against North Texas, Hood led the team with 16 kills, while Heinz recorded 14 and a match-high seven blocks. Rachel Pittman led the team with 13 digs, followed by Beth Cowley with 11. Cowley also recorded 39 assists for her second double-double of the season.
In the first game, North Texas jumped out early and the Tigers could not get back into the match. The Mean Green hit .680, recording 18 kills with just one error, and 14 digs, while LSU countered with a .033 clip, eight kills and six digs. North Texas took game one, 30-10.
In the second game the Tigers fired back, rattling off five straight pointsto open play. The Mean Green got no closer than two points, 10-8, the rest of the game as LSU took charge. The Tigers recorded 12 kills, 13 digs and a season-best seven blocks in the game. LSU went on to even the match at one game each on a kill by Hood, 30-21.
With the scored tied at four in the third game, the Tigers went on a 7-1 run to jump out to an 11-5 lead. North Texas rallied to tie the game at 14 before taking the lead at 19-18, its first lead of the game. LSU then tied it up as the game saw five more ties before the Tigers took the lead for good, 28-27, on a service error by the Mean Green. A kill by Leaumont gave LSU the game, 30-28, and the two games to one lead.
North Texas took an early lead in the fourth game, 5-0. Trailing 12-7, the Tigers rallied back to tie the game at 15 before taking their first lead, 16-15. The Mean Green retook the lead, 20-17, before LSU tied the game again at 20. There would be six more ties before a Beth Cowley kill would give the Tigers the lead for good, 26-25. Hood closed out the match in fashion with a service ace, 30-26.
The Tigers open Southeastern Conference play next week at home in the Maravich Center with a trio of matches. LSU begins with Arkansas on Wednesday at 7 p.m. before battling South Carolina, which is receiving votes in the AVCA/USA Today poll, on Friday at 7 p.m. The Tigers conclude the opening weekend with Kentucky on Sunday at 1:30 p.m.