HOUSTON — The LSU volleyball team fell to Rice, 30-13, 30-19, 30-13, on the road at Autry Court on Tuesday night.
The Tigers fell to 9-3 on the season, while the Owls, who are currently receiving votes in the AVCA/USA Today Coaches Poll, improved to 12-2 on the year. The pair split the season series, one match each, with each team winning the match on its home court.
“I was disappointed with our performance today,” said LSU head coach Fran Flory. “We knew this match was going to test us became Rice is a good team and it was a close five-game win for us at our place. This time around, they made the adjustments against us and we did not do a good job of taking care of the ball on our side of the net. We had some opportunities, but we did not take advantage of them. Now we have to use this as a learning experience as we get back into conference play this weekend.”
LSU struggled the entire match both offensively and defensively, hitting at a .000 clip, recording an equal number of kills and errors, while being out dug by 13 and out blocked by five.
Melody Clark led the Tigers with six kills, followed by Ivana Kuzmic and Regan Hood with four each. Kassi Mikulik and Rachel Pittman tied for the team lead with eight digs apiece, while Kuzmic recorded a team-best four blocks, including three solo.
Lindsey Carter led Rice and the match with 15 kills, followed by Rebeca Pazo with 12. Yvette Kirk led the Owls with 15 digs, followed by Pazo with 11.
In the first game, the Tigers fell behind early and could never come back from the deficit. LSU trailed 17-10 before Rice went on a 6-0 run to extend their lead to 23-10. The Owls went on to take game one, 30-13.
Game two remained close through the first 24 points as the teams were all square at 12 each. Rice then outscored the Tigers, 18-7 the rest of the way to take the second game, 30-19.
Playing out in much the same way as the first game, LSU fell behind early in game three and could not overcome the deficit. The Owls took game three and the match, 30-13.
LSU returns home to take on Mississippi State and Ole Miss in Southeastern Conference action this weekend. The Tigers will host the Bulldogs on Friday at 7 p.m. before battling the Rebels on Sunday at 1:30 p.m.
Rice def. LSU 30-13,30-19,30-13
LSU (9-3) (Kills-aces-blocks) – Melody Clark 6-0-2; Ivana Kuzmic 4-0-4; Regan Hood 4-0-2; Jelena Mijatovic 3-1-0; Kassi Mikulik 2-0-0; Daniela Romero 2-0-0; Lauren Leaumont 2-0-0; Totals 23-1-6.0. (Assists) – Daniela Romero 20. (Dig leaders) – Rachel Pittman 8; Kassi Mikulik 8
Rice (12-2) (Kills-aces-blocks) – Carter, Lindsey 15-1-4; Pazo, Rebeca 12-4-2; Kainz, Rebecca 9-0-5; Pazo, Olaya 9-2-5; Kuykendall, Tessa 5-0-4; Hoban, Kristina 3-1-0; DuPont, Catherine 1-0-0; Dennemann, Kristina 0-1-0; Totals 54-9-11.0. (Assists) – Hoban, Kristina 40. (Dig leaders) – Kirk, Yvette 15; Pazo, Rebeca 11; Hoban, Kristina 8