GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The LSU volleyball team fell to the third-ranked Florida Gators on the road, 30-16, 30-18, 30-21, on Sunday afternoon in the O’Connell Center.
With the loss, the Tigers fell to 11-16 overall and 6-8 in Southeastern Conference play. The nationally ranked Gators improved to 26-1 overall and 14-0 in league play. Florida ran its NCAA consecutive game winning streak to 76 games and continued its NCAA-record regular season conference win streak to 128 matches.
“I thought we did some things much better today,” said LSU head coach Fran Flory. “I thought our ball control returned. Our service return was much better and I think we took that away from their game plan. We did not run our offense well today and they controlled the plays at the net. They are an outstandingteam and we just did not have an answer for them at the net.”
Florida leads the SEC with 2.81 service aces per game this season. The Gators were held to just five against the Tigers, almost four below their season average, as LSU improved its ball control and first touch throughout the game.
Regan Hood led LSU with eight kills, followed by Lauren Leaumont with six and Megan Heinz and Melody Clark with five each. Daniela Romero led the team with seven digs, followed by Leaumont wifh five. Leaumont and Heinz each recorded a team-best two blocks for the Tigers.
In the first game, the Tigers played close to Florida to start, as Hood and Leaumont each recorded a pair of kills. LSU trailed by just three, 12-9, before the Gators went on a 9-3 run to break the game open and take the 21-12 lead. With Florida leading, 23-14, the Gators scored five straight to send it to 28-14. The Tigers scored back-to-back points before Florida closed out game one, 30-16.
Just as in the start of game one, LSU held close with the Gators early in the second game. Trailing by one, 9-8, Florida went on a 5-0 run that broke the game open. The Gators followed that with a run of 6-0 and three runs of 3-0 that put the game away. Florida went on to take game two, 30-18.
In the third game, the Tigers fell behind early, 11-5, but LSU fought to keep the game within five or six. With UF leading, 17-13, the Gators used a 3-0 run to extend their lead to 19-13, but the Tigers fought back. LSU got the game to within four, 22-18 on a pair of kills by Hood and a block by Heinz and Leaumont. Florida then went on a 6-1 run to pull ahead by nine and take control of the game. The Gators went on to take the game and the match, 30-21.
The Tigers now travel to Arkansas for a rematch with the Lady’Backs on Wednesday at 7 p.m. Arkansas defeated LSU, 3-1, in Baton Rouge in the SEC opener for both teams earlier this season. The Lady’Backs have wrapped up the SEC Western Division title and the second seed in the conference tournament.