AUBURN, Ala. — The LSU volleyball team had five players with nine or more kills as the Fighting Tigers defeated Auburn, 30-22, 28-30, 31-29, 30-27, on the road at the Student Activities Center on Sunday afternoon.
With the win, LSU snapped a five-match losing skid and improved to 10-6 overall and 2-4 in Southeastern Conference action. The loss dropped Auburn to 6-8 overall and 1-5 in league play.
“I like the way our team played together today,” said LSU head coach Fran Flory. “They came out here and played with intensity and fed off each other’s energy. We were able to take care of the ball much better and do the things we wanted to do much of the match. Auburn did make a few runs on us, but we did not let them affect our play. We fought back and closed out the match.”
After dominating the first game, the match was much more evenly played the rest of the way. The second and third games were decided on the final swings. LSU held an early lead late in the fourth game, but Auburn came back to make it close before the purple and gold put it away.
Offensively, LSU was led by junior Jelena Mijatovic with 19 kills, which tied her previous season best recorded in a five-game match against Miami. She also posted 11 digs for her fifth double-double of the season.
Senior Regan Hood recorded 15 kills, giving her 999 career kills, one shy of becoming the 13th player in LSU history to record 1,000 career kills. Sophomore Melody Clark recorded 12 kills, two shy of her career best, while posting a season-best .435 hitting percentage and six blocks.
Junior Ivana Kuzmic led the team with seven blocks, while also recording nine kills and a .615 hitting percentage, her best of the season. Senior Rachel Pittman led the team with 11 digs, her eighth double-figure dig performance of the season.
Auburn was led by Jelena Sekulic with 14 kills, while Bailey Veit posted 10 kills and a team-best five blocks. Jennifer Buckert led AU with eight digs for the match.
In the first game, LSU came out and dominated offensively. The only flaw in the purple and gold’s game was giving up three points early in service errors, keeping Auburn close, 5-4. LSU then took control, going on a 7-3 run that put the Fighting Tigers ahead by five. A steady attack by LSU kept the purple and gold pulling ahead, by as many as 11 points late in the game. A kill by Mijatovic gave the Fighting Tigers the first game, 30-22.
Game two was a much closer contest as there were nine ties and four lead changes. LSU led by as many as three, 17-14, but could get no further. Auburn responded with a 5-0 run that put AU ahead, 19-17. The Fighting Tigers came back to tie it up at 19 all, but Auburn pulled ahead again, 24-20. With AU holding game point, 29-26, the purple and gold cut it back to one, 29-28, but they could not tie it up as a kill by Auburn tied the match at a game each.
The third game played out in much the same way as the second, except LSU came out on top in the end. With the purple and gold trailing 20-17, the Fighting Tigers went on a 3-0 run to tie it up. LSU pulled ahead by as many as three, 26-23, before Auburn stormed back with four straight points to take the 27-26 advantage. On game point for AU, 29-28, LSU got a kill from Kuzmic to tie it up before back-to-back points to take the game, 31-29.
In game four, the Fighting Tigers broke out a seven-point lead late in the game, 22-15, but Auburn would not go away easily. An 8-1 run by AU cut the LSU lead to 24-23. With the Fighting Tigers holding the one-point advantage, 28-27, LSU scored two-straight to take the game and the match, 30-27.
LSU will remain on the road next weekend as the Tigers travel for rematches with No. 8 Florida and Georgia. LSU will face the Gators on Friday at 8 p.m. (CT) and the Bulldogs on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. (CT). The Tigers lost to Florida, 3-0, earlier in the season at home, and swept the Georgia, 3-0, in the Maravich Center to open SEC play.
LSU def. Auburn 30-22, 28-30, 31-29, 30-27
LSU (10-6, 2-4 SEC) (Kills-aces-blocks) – Jelena Mijatovic 19-3-2; Regan Hood 15-0-4; Melody Clark 12-0-6; Kassi Mikulik 9-0-2 Ivana Kuzmic 9-1-7; Daniela Romero 5-0-1; Totals 69-4-12.0. (Assists) – Daniela Romero 55. (Dig leaders) – Jelena Mijatovic 11; Rachel Pittman 11; Kassi Mikulik 8
Auburn (6-8, 1-5 SEC) (Kills-aces-blocks) – Jelena Sekulic 14-1-0; Ashlee Johns 13-1-3; Whitney Jacob 12-0-4; Bailey Veit 10-0-5; Jennifer Buckert 4-0-4; Maria Mogollon 2-1-2; Totals 55-3-9.0. (Assists) – Maria Mogollon 51. (Dig leaders) – Jennifer Buckert 8; Ashlee Johns 7