FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The LSU volleyball team matched its best start in school history by sweeping defending Southeastern Conference co-champion Tennessee, 30-26, 30-24, 31-29, on Sunday afternoon at Barnhill Arena.
The Tigers (12-1, 2-0 SEC) equaled the 12-1 starts of the 1991 and 1978 teams for the best start through 13 matches. The Lady Vols, which dropped out of the Top 25 poll last week and are the first team receiving votes, fell to 7-4 overall and 1-1 in conference play.
The weekend matches, which were moved to Arkansas because of the hurricanes, marked the first 2-0 start in league play for LSU since the 1995 season. The Tigers now have at least two weeks remaining on their road trip after playing the first five weekends on the road.
“I have never been more proud of a team than I am right now,” said LSU head coach Fran Flory. “This was supposed to be our home opening weekend, but we had to play in Arkansas, and have embraced that. The team has overcome every challenge it has faced so far this season and will not be denied.”
After holding the lead through much of the first game, the Tigers pulled away to take the lead in the match. LSU played from behind most of the second game before fighting back to tie it up and finally using a 5-0 run late to take game two.
In the third game, Tennessee led, 28-24, before sending it to game point, 29-26. The Tigers fought off game point three times in the third game before tying it up at 29 all on a bad set by the Lady Vols. Back-to-back blocks by the Tigers concluded a 5-0 run as LSU earned the sweep, 31-29.
Junior Melody Clark tied the team best with 10 kills and also posted a season-best eight blocks for the Tigers. Senior Jelena Mijatovic also recorded 10 kills with five blocks and a match-best three service aces.
Senior Ivana Kuzmic posted 10 kills and a .833 hitting percentage, the fifth-best hitting percentage in school history. Mikulik led the match with 15 digs and recorded her 600th career dig in the match.
Tennessee’s Yuliya Stoyanova led the match with 19 kills, while Joselyn Johnson led the Lady Vols with four blocks. Amy Morris led Tennessee with 14 digs.
For the first time this season, LSU was out killed and won, recording 50 kills to 52 to Tennessee. The difference in the match was in hitting percentage as the Tigers committed only 15 hitting errors for the match to finish with a .307 attacking percentage. Conversely, The Lady Vols recorded 25 hitting errors and posted a .221 clip.
In the first game, LSU jumped out to a 6-2 lead after a 4-0 run by the Tigers. Tennessee slowly crept back into the match until the Lady Vols tied it up at 17 all. A kill by Kuzmic and a service ace by Mikulik put LSU ahead again for good. The Tigers led by as many as four before Tennessee pulled back within two, 26-26, but LSU closed out the game with a kill and a block by Clark, 30-26.
The Lady Vols jumped on the early lead in the second game. After a five all tie, Tennessee pulled to out to a 10-6 advantage. LSU went on a 6-0 run to take its first lead of the game, 12-10, and would never trail again. The Tigers and Lady Vols traded side outs until Tennessee came back to tie it up at 20 all on a pair of kills and a block.
After a tie at 21 all, a kill by Mijatovic, an error by the Lady Vols and a block by Mijatovic and Clark sent the lead to three for LSU. Tennessee never got within two the remainder of the way as the Tigers closed out the game on a kill by Romero, 30-24, to take the two-game lead.
In the third game, Tennessee once again jumped out to the lead early, 7-4, before LSU came back to tie it up at eight all. With the match tied at 15 all, the Lady Vols used a 2-0 run to take the 17-15 lead. The lead stayed at one to two points for Tennessee until an ace at 25-23 extended the lead to three.
The Lady Vols led by as many as four, 28-24, after a block, but the Tigers would not falter. Trailing 29-26, LSU used a kill by Daniela Romero, a block by Romero and Clark, and the bad set by Tennessee to tie it up. A second block by Romero and Clark and a block by Clark and Mijatovic gave the Tigers the match.
LSU will now travels to Alabama and Auburn next weekend to continued SEC play. The Tigers will face the Crimson Tide on Friday at 7 p.m. Sunday match at Auburn at 1 p.m. will be televised on SEC-TV in Baton Rouge on FSN Southwest, cable channel 38.
LSU def. Tennessee, 30-26, 30-24, 31-29
LSU (12-1, 2-0 SEC) (Kills-aces-blocks) – Jelena Mijatovic 10-2-5; Ivana Kuzmic 10-0-1; Melody Clark 10-0-8; Kyna Washington 8-0-1; Marina Skender 6-0-0; Heather Fierce 0-0-0; Lauren Leaumont 0-0-0; Vanessa Freeman 3-0-0; Michelle Hensgens 0-0-0; Kassi Mikulik 0-1-0; Daniela Romero 3-1-2; Totals 50-5-9.0. (Assists) – Heather Fierce 23, Daniela Romero 20. (Dig leaders) – Kassi Mikulik 15.
Tennessee (7-4, 1-1 SEC) (Kills-aces-blocks) – Yuliya Stoyanova 19-0-3; Kelsey Fautsch 9-0-2; Kristen Andre 8-0-3; Joselyn Johnson 7-0-4; Julie Knytych 3-0-1; Annie Sadowski 0-0-0; Jasmine Fullove 0-0-0; Chelsea Noble 0-0-0; Mindy Flynn 5-0-2; Milan Clarke 1-0-0; Amy Morris 1-1-0; Totals 52-1-9.0. (Assists) – Julie Knytych 37. (Dig leaders) – Amy Morris 14