KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The LSU volleyball team had its three-match Southeastern Conference winning streak snapped on the road against No. 15 Tennessee, 30-22, 30-12, 30-26, on Sunday afternoon in the Stokley Center.
With the loss, the Tigers fell to 14-10 overall and 6-8 in league play. The Lady Vols improved to 24-2 on the season and 13-1 in conference action. LSU remains at third place in the SEC West and at sixth overall with two regular season league matches remaining.
“We had some opportunities today and we just couldn’t take advantage,” said LSU head coach Fran Flory. “Give credit to Tennessee because they are a good team, but we did not take care of things on our side of the net. I was proud of the way the team came back and fought in game three, but we just couldn’t quite get over the hump. Now we have to go back and regroup to get ready to close out the SEC schedule next weekend.”
A 9-0 run by Tennessee midway through the first game put the Lady Vols ahead for good. The Tigers fought back, but could never overcome the deficit. In the second game, Tennessee came out and just steadily pulled away from LSU to take the two-game lead. The Tigers came out of the locker room and put up a great fight in the third game. Trailing by as many as five midway though, LSU came back to tie it up late, but could not quite take the lead, as Tennessee closed it out in the end.
Senior Regan Hood led the Tigers with 12 kills, followed by junior Ivana Kuzmic and sophomore Melody Clark with nine each. Kuzmic also led LSU with three blocks, including one solo, while Clark led the team with a .333 hitting percentage. Sophomore Daniela Romero posted her second consecutive double-double with 30 assists and a match-best 16 digs.
For Tennessee, Sarah Blum led the Lady Vols with 13 kills, followed by Kristen Andre and Amy Morris with 11 each. Andre also led the match with 10 blocks. Annie Sadowski led Tennessee with 11 digs, followed by Julie Knytych with 10.
In the first game, the Tigers took the early 7-3 lead before Tennessee came back with a 9-0 run, including six blocks, to take the lead for good. LSU could get no closer than four the rest of the way as Tennessee took game one, 30-22.
After being tied a three all in the second game, the Lady Vols put together several runs on their way to taking the two-game advantage, 30-12. The Tigers could not get their offense going, recording 11 kills and 14 errors while to hit at a -.071 clip. Conversely, Tennessee also posted 11 kills, but recorded one error and hit at a .385 clip.
In the third game, LSU got its offense going and gave the Lady Vols a scare. Tennessee pulled out to a three-point lead and extended it to five-point advantage, 13-8. The Tigers fought back to within one, 15-14, but could not tie it up. The Lady Vols then stretched their lead to four points, but LSU once again came back. This time the Tigers tied the game at 21 all. Tennessee broke the tie and took the lead for good, 22-21. LSU was within a point on three more occasions, before the Lady Vols took the match, 30-26.
The Tigers will close out the SEC regular season next weekend on the road at Arkansas and Ole Miss. LSU will face the Lady’Backs on Friday at 7 p.m. before taking on the Lady Rebels on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. Arkansas lost to South Carolina, 3-0, on the road on Sunday.
Tennessee def. LSU 30-22, 30-12, 30-26
LSU (14-10, 6-8 SEC) (Kills-aces-blocks) – Regan Hood 12-0-1; Ivana Kuzmic 9-0-3; Melody Clark 9-0-2; Vanessa Freeman 7-0-1; Daniela Romero 3-1-1; Jelena Mijatovic 2-1-0; Lauren Leaumont 0-0-1; Totals 42-2-5.0. (Assists) – Daniela Romero 30. (Dig leaders) – Daniela Romero 16; Regan Hood 7
Tennessee (24-2, 13-1 SEC) (Kills-aces-blocks) – Sarah Blum 13-0-4; Amy Morris 11-0-3; Kristen Andre 11-1-10; Yuliya Stoyanova 6-0-4; Michelle Piantadosi 4-0-2; Julie Knytych 2-1-4; Totals 47-2-14.0. (Assists) – Julie Knytych 38. (Dig leaders) – Annie Sadowski 11; Julie Knytych 10; Amy Morris 8