BATON ROUGE — The LSU volleyball team dropped a three-game Southeastern Conference match to South Carolina, 30-24, 30-27, 30-28, on Friday night in the Maravich Center.
With the loss, the Tigers drop to 5-9 overall and 0-2 in conference play. The Gamecocks, who are receiving votes in the AVCA/USA Today Coaches poll, improve to 7-6 overall and 1-0 in league play.
South Carolina recorded 13 blocks for the match, including seven in game one, compared to just eight for LSU in the match. The 13 blocks by the Gamecocks contributed to the 33 attacking errors committed by the Tigers on their way to hitting just .101 for the match, compared to.213 for South Carolina.
“South Carolina is probably the most athletic team we have played this season, including Kansas State and Nebraska, ” said LSU head coach Fran Flory. “They are not the most experienced team but they are the most athletic. Even though we lost, I am proud of our effort tonight.
“At some point in the season we are going to break through,” said Flory. “We have had some opportunities and some success but we haven’t been able to really break through because we have played some really quality opponents.”
Regan Hood led the Tigers with 16 kills and 12 digs for her fourth double-double of the season. In addition, she recorded a pair of blocks. Lauren Leaumont also recorded 10 kills and a team-best four blocks.
Kassi Mikulik and Christie Ruttley each recorded 10 digs, while Melody Clark had three blocks. Beth Cowley led the team with 34 assists.
With the scored tied at seven in the first game, South Carolina went on a 10-6 run that put them ahead, 17-13. The Tigers fought back to as close as three, 24-21, but could get no closer as the Gamecocks scored six of the final nine points of the game to take the early lead, 30-24.
In the second game, LSU took a three-point lead, 14-11, after the game was tied at eight. South Carolina came back to tie the game at 15. The Gamecocks then jumped out to a five-point lead, 26-21, before the Tigers rallied back to get within two points, 29-27, but a kill by South Carolina closed out the game, 30-27.
“At the end of game two and coming out of the locker room going into game three, I really thought we had a change to come back against them,” said Flory.
LSU jumped out early in the third game, 7-4. The Tigers extended the lead to 18-14, their largest lead of the game. A 6-0 run by the Gamecocks gave them the lead, 20-18. With a four-point lead, 28-24, LSU rallied back to within one, 29-28, but the Tigers could not hold off the fourth match point for South Carolina as the Gamecocks took the match, 30-28.
The Tigers will close out the weekend at home against Kentucky on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. LSU will host Auburn and Alabama next weekend to conclude the five-match home stand.