NEW ORLEANS — After falling to No. 5 Nebraska in a tough three-game match, 30-22, 30-24, 30-22, the LSU volleyball team rebounded with a win over New Orleans, 30-28, 34-32, 30-28, on Saturday afternoon in the Sugar Bowl Classic at Fogelman Arena.
With the split, the Tigers moved to 3-3 on the season and have now won 11 straight over UNO. Nebraska remained undefeated and improved to 5-0, while the Privateers dropped to 1-6 on the year.
Hood led the match with 17 kills and a .412 hitting percentage. She also recorded 11 digs for her second collegiate double-double. Leaumont recorded a career-high 15 kills and 10 digs for her second double-double.
Rachel Pittman and Daniela Romero led the team with 12 digs each, as Romero also recorded 43 assists for the double-double. Causey led the team with four blocks, followed by three by Mikulik and Hood.
“I was satisfied with the outcome but I was not satisfied with the way we played,” said LSU head coach Fran Flory. ” I think UNO outplayed us, they fought harder than we did.
“Once again we were forced to use a new lineup, but I thought Lacey Galliano came in and started the first match of her career and did a nice job,” said Flory. “Overall I think Regan Hood carried this team. She’s been a tremendous player so far. I think Daniela Romero got a little better in our offense.”
Christine Zimmer led the Privateers with 14 kills, followed by Jennifer Cruz with 12 and Hillary Carr with 11. Jayne Duncan led the match with 18 digs, while Zimmer recorded 14 for a double-double for UNO. Melissa Mikuski was also in double-digits with 10 digs for New Orleans.
Taking an early lead in the first game, 5-1, against UNO, the Tigers lead by as many as six, 18-12. The Privateers then used a 7-2 run to tie the game at 20 all. New Orleans took the lead 28-26 before a kill by Lacey Galliano and back-to-back kills by Kassi Mikiluk gave LSU game point. A block by Cara Causey on game point gave the Tigers the game, 30-28.
In game two, the two teams fought back and forth for most of the game. With the score tied at 23, LSU used a 5-3 run to take a 28-26 lead. UNO came back to tie the game on back-to-back kills. A kill by Mikiluk gave the Tigers their first game point. LSU would have four game points and the Privateers would have one before a service ace by Regan Hood gave the Tigers the game, 34-32, and the two games to none advantage.
In the third game, the Tigers took control early, jumping out to a 17-11 lead. New Orleans would come back to cut the lead to 26-23 before LSU would send the match to game point 29-25. It would take the Tigers four chances before putting the match away on a kill by Lauren Leaumont.
The Tigers dropped a hard fought match against No. 5 Nebraska, giving the Cornhuskers a run in all three games. In the second game, LSU got as close as 18-17 midway through before Nebraska used a 5-1 run to pull away and went on take the game and the match.
Regan Hood led the Tigers with 12 kills while hitting at a .346 clip with eight digs and three blocks. Daniela Romero recorded a game-high 19 digs with 29 assists and five kills. Lauren Leaumont also recorded double-figures with 10 digs for LSU.
“We had a lot of opportunities,” said Flory. “We created a lot of chances but we could not capitalize on them. I don’t know if we could have beaten them, but I think we could have given them a much better match if we had taken advantage of our opportunities.”
Melissa Elmer and Kelsey Fautsch led Nebraska with 10 kills each. Elmer also recorded a match-high six blocks, while Jenae Dowling recorded 10 digs for the Cornhuskers.
In the first game, Nebraska jumped out to the early 14-4 lead before the Tigers clawed back with an 8-4 run to cut the lead to 18-12, but could get no closer, going on to take the game, 30-22.
In the second game, the Cornhuskers once again jumped out early, 12-8, before LSU cut it down to 18-17, forcing Nebraska to take its first timeout of the tournament. Out of the timeout, a 5-1 run by Cornhuskers helped them pull away as the Tigers got no closer than five the rest of the game.
In the third game, LSU hung tough with Nebraska, trailing by one, 13-12. The Cornhuskers then went on a 6-2 run to take the 19-14 lead. The Tigers got as close as 25-21 later in the game, but Nebraska closed out the match with a 5-1 run for the win.
The Tigers next travel to Manhattan, Kan., for the Wildcat Classic next weekend. LSU will take on tournament host No. 14 Kansas State, Colorado State, which is receiving votes in the national poll, and South Florida.
“Our schedule doesn’t get any easier from here,” said Flory. “I’m thankful we have a tougher schedule because that means that we need to prepare better and we need to get more mentally tough next week. They are going to have to understand that at this stage in our development that if we want to keep climbing the ladder these are the types of people we need to beat.”
2003 Sugar Bowl Classic All-Tournament Team:
Jennifer Cruz, UNO
Karlyn Daly, Tulane
Deva Fowler, Tulane
Christina Houghtelling, Nebraska
Anastasia Kenon, Tulane
Daniela Romero, LSU
Anna Schrad, Nebraska
Tournament MVP: Melissa Elmer, Nebraska