BATON ROUGE — The LSU volleyball team earned its first Southeastern Conference victory with a five-game win over Kentucky on Sunday afternoon in the Maravich Center, 24-30, 30-27, 30-28, 23-30, 15-9.
With the win, the Tigers improve to 6-9 overall and 1-2 in conference play. The loss drops the Wildcats to 8-6 overall and 0-2 in league play.
The match marked a career day for freshman Markeisha Constant. The Tuscaloosa, Ala., native recorded a career-best 18 kills, tied for the team best, while knocking down a career-high six blocks.
“Markeisha was a huge key for us today,” said LSU head coach Fran Flory. “Her performance is the reason we won the match. Megan Heinz and Regan Hood were limited in their ability to control the match like they have in the past and we needed others to step up. Markeisha and Lauren Leaumont did that for us. It was good to see the freshman step up and create the opportunity for us to win.”
Leaumont also hit in double figures, recording 14 kills, while coming up one shy of a double-double with nine digs. The freshman from New Orleans also had two service aces and a block.
After dropping the first game of the match, the Tigers rallied to win the next two, holding off a fierce Kentucky rally in game three. The Wildcats went on to take game four and even the match, sending it to a decisive game five. In the fifth game, LSU took the early lead and never looked back, going on to take the game and the match.
“We play with more confidence when we play ahead in a game,” said Flory. “When we have a cushion, we seem to get into a nice rhythm. When we play behind, we play anxious rather than with intensity. That is something that we need to work on in practice.”
In the first game, the Tigers fell behind early. Kentucky jumped ahead13-3, before LSU rallied to cut it to six, 18-12. With the Wildcats again leading by 10, 25-15, the Tigers cut the Kentucky lead down to five, 29-25, fighting off game point four times before falling, 30-24.
Neither team was able to go on a run in the second game. LSU lead by three, 10-7, before the Wildcats tied the game at 15. The Tigers once again took a three-point advantage, 23-20, before Kentucky cut it down to one, 25-24, but could get no closer. LSU went on to take the game, 30-27, on a kill by Constant.
The Tigers scored 11 straight points to start the third game as the Wildcats had eight attacking errors. Kentucky slowly cut into the LSU lead, using a 15-9 run. With the Tigers leading 29-26, the Wildcats fought off game-point twice before a kill by Regan Hood gave LSU the win, 30-28.
For the match, Hood recorded 18 kills. In addition, she led the team with 19 digs for her fifth double-double of the season. The junior from Carrollton, Texas, also had a game-high seven blocks, including three block solos.
The fourth game was similar to the first game in that Kentucky used an early run to take the lead and never relinquish it. With the score tied at three, the Wildcats scored 13 of the next 16 points to take a 10-point lead. Trailing 26-18, LSU would not give up, fighting back to 29-23 before Kentucky closed out the game, 30-23.
The Tigers jumped out early in game five and never looked back. LSU scored six of the first eight points, capped off by a kill by Daniela Romero, to take the 6-2 lead. Romero recorded a double-double with 57 assists and 10 digs for the match.
Leading 9-6, the Tigers scored six of the last nine points, including the final three, to earn their first win in conference play. A service ace by Beth Cowley sealed the match, 15-9.
LSU closes out its five-game home stand next weekend as it hosts Auburn on Friday at 7 p.m. and Alabama on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. in the Maravich Center.