COLUMBIA, S.C. — The LSU volleyball team could not fight off late runs by Arkansas as the seventh-seeded Tigers fell to the second-seeded Lady Razorbacks, 30-17, 30-28, 30-27, in the first round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament in the Volleyball Competition Facility.
With the loss, LSU ended its season at 11-19 overall and 6-10 in the SEC. Arkansas improved to 23-5 overall and 15-1 in league play.
After falling in the first game, the Tigers held late leads in both the second and third games. The Lady’Backs used late runs in both games to dash LSU’s bid for the first upset of this season’s tournament and complete the sweep of the Tigers.
“I think this match reflected our entire season,” said LSU head coach Fran Flory. “We can’t stand prosperity. We missed opportunities when we were given easy chances. I think our game plane worked because we backed Arkansas up against a wall, but we just could not execute when we needed to.”
Lauren Leaumont and Regan Hood led the Tigers with nine kills. Leaumont also led the team with 11 digs and four blocks. Hood added seven digs, while Melody Clark and Megan Heinz had three blocks each as LSU outblocked Arkansas 10-5.
“I think Lauren proved that she will be a great player for us in the future,” said Flory. “Regan was one of the only players we had that returned for this team that had any playing experience and she shouldered a lot of the burden much of the year. By the end of the season she had given all she had and basically had nothing more to give.”
Arkansas jumped out early in the first game, taking a 10-2 lead. With the Tigers trailing 15-5, LSU battled back to cut the Lady’Back lead to six, 17-11. Arkansas again extended its lead to double figures, leading 24-13, before the Tigers got it back to within eight, 24-16, but could get no closer. The Lady’Backs went on a 5-0 run to send it to game point, 29-16. LSU fought off one game point, but Arkansas closed out the first game on a kill, 30-17.
“I think we started out tense rather than intense,” said Flory. “I think we came out with a great game plan and if we executed it would create opportunities for us. We put pressure on them and that did create the opportunities we were looking for but we just didn’t take advantage.”
With LSU leading 4-2 in the second game, Arkansas went on a 6-1 run to take the 8-5 advantage. The Tigers fought back to tie the game at nine. There would be 17 more ties and six more lead changes in the game before it was finally decided.
Tied at 24, LSU went on a 3-0 run to take the 27-24 lead. The Lady’Backs came back with four straight to take the 28-27 lead. The Tigers tied it up on a kill by Leaumont, but a service error by Hood gave Arkansas game point. The Lady’Backs took the two game lead on an attacking error by Leaumont, 30-28.
In the third game, Arkansas took three-point leads early, leading 9-6. The Tigers came back to tie the game at 11 before the Lady’Backs took the 15-13 lead. Tied at 17, the Tigers would take a three-point lead of its own, 20-17, before extending that lead to four, 22-18. With LSU leading 25-21, Arkansas went on to score nine of the final 11 points to take the game and the match, 30-27.
“We have everyone back next year because we don’t have any seniors,” said Flory. “I think we learned a lot about ourselves as a team in this game and throughout the year. Now we have to look at it and decided if we want to go down that same road again or if we want to change it and get better for the future.”
The SEC Tournament semifinal matches will be held on Saturday as top-seeded Florida, a 3-0 winner over Kentucky, takes on fourth-seeded Tennesse, a 3-2 winner over Georgia, at 2 p.m. CST before second-seeded Arkansas takes on third-seeded Alabama, a 3-0 winner over South Carolina, at 4 p.m. CST. The winners of the semifinal matches will advance to the tournament championship game on Sunday at noon CST to play for the league’s automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.