AUSTIN, Texas — The LSU volleyball team rebounded from a loss to Texas on Friday by winning a pair of matches on Saturday at the Texas Invitational, defeating Liberty, 26-30, 30-38, 30-21, 30-18, and Louisiana Tech, 30-26, 30-26, 30-27.
With the two wins, the Tigers improved to 5-1 on the season, their best start since a 5-1 start in 2002. Liberty fell to 0-5, while Louisiana Tech dropped to 3-5.
“I thought this tournament was great for us,” said LSU head coach Fran Flory. “It was not the highest level of competition, but the teams did exploit some of the things we need to work on which will help make us much better. We are a little disappointed, but happy to come away 2-1. Now we need to go home and work on some thing to get better for next weekend.”
Ivana Kuzmic led the Tigers in both matches, recording 29 kills and nine blocks on the day. Regan Hood followed with 20 kills, while Lauren Leaumont had 18 and Kassi Mikulik recorded 16. Michelle Hensgens also led the Tigers with seven service aces on the day.
Playing poorly in the first game, the Tigers fell behind, 1-0, to Liberty. LSU played progressively better as the match advanced, as the Tigers took the final three games to earn the win. After hitting just .125 in the first game, LSU never hit below .200 the remainder of the match, finishing with a .292 team hitting percentage.
The Tigers swept Louisiana Tech in three close games. LSU took leads late into each game, but the resilient Lady Techsters would not go away easily and fought back to make it tight, as the Tigers won no game by more than four points.
Kuzmic led the Tigers with 15 kills and five blocks, while hitting at a match best .542 clip against Liberty, her best performance of the season. Hood followed with 12 kills for LSU, while Daniela Romero led the team with nine digs and 40 assists, while adding four blocks. Hensgens also recorded four service aces for the Tigers in the match.
Liberty was led by Jennifer Belk with 13 kills, 10 digs and two blocks, the only two blocks of the match for the Flames. Hitting only .079 for the match, Liberty had only one game hitting over .100, knocking a .179 clip in the fourth game.
The first game was one of runs, which saw Liberty’s final 4-0 run close out the game, 30-26. The Flames led by as many as four on two occasions, while the Tigers led by as many as three. Neither team could find the court, as they both posted sub-.150 hitting percentages and combined to commit eight service errors.
The second game unfolded in much the same way as the first, but with LSU coming out on top, 30-28. The Tigers led by as many as six, 21-15, before Liberty came back to cut the LSU lead to just one, 28-27, before LSU closed it out on a kill by Hood.
After being tied at eight in the third game, the Tigers took control and never relinquished it. Liberty would get only as close as three, 16-13, the rest of the way as the Tigers pulled away to the 30-21 win. LSU finally found the court, recording 17 kills in the game while hitting at a .536 clip and committing only three service errors.
Against Louisiana Tech, Kuzmic once again led the match with 14 kills, while hitting .214 with two blocks. Leaumont recorded her first double-figure kill match of the season with 13. Mikulik recorded her second double-double of the season with 10 kills and 10 digs and led the team with three blocks. Hensgens once again led the team with three service aces.
The Lady Techsters were led Joy Okpa with 12 kills, while Heather Anderson led the team with 12 digs. Shannon Phillps knocked down a match-best five blocks.
Like the match against Liberty, LSU’s match against the Lady Techsters was one of runs. The Tigers jumped out to a 6-3 lead in the first game before the Lady Techsters rallied back to tie the game at seven. Louisiana Tech went on to lead by as many as five before LSU came back to tie it again and take the lead for good at 19-18. The Tigers led by as many as six before closing out the game, 30-26.
In the second game, the Tigers jumped out to a five-point lead, 23-18, only to see Louisiana Tech rally back to tie the game at 26. LSU then scored the final four points of the game to take the two-game advantage, closing it out on a service ace by Michelle Hensgens.
In the third game, neither team was able to take more than a two-point advantage until LSU went on a 6-2 run to break an 18-18 tie late in the game. Louisiana Tech stormed back to tie the game at 27, but the Tigers would not give up, scoring the final three points of the game to close out the match.
LSU will return home to host the Tigers Classic next weekend. The Tigers will take on New Orleans on Friday at 7 p.m. before closing out the tournament on Saturday at 7 p.m. against Stephen F. Austin. UNO will also take on Stephen F. Austin on Saturday at 1 p.m.