TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — For just the second time this season, the No. 24-ranked LSU volleyball team came up short, falling to Alabama, 25-30, 30-22, 30-17, 30-26, on Friday night at the CAVE.
With the loss, the Tigers snapped a five-match winning streak and fell to 12-2 overall and 2-1 in Southeastern Conference play. The Crimson Tide improved to 14-2 on the season and 2-1 in league play.
“This was certainly one of our poorest performances of the year,” said LSU head coach Fran Flory. “Unfortunately everybody had an off night. In the past we struggled individually, but tonight everyone had a difficult time. We were not able to establish anything offensively or defensively.
“I think we reacted to the atmosphere and let Alabama control the tempo and the outcome,” Flory said. “This does not change our goals for the season and I don’t think it will cost us anything in the end. We will learn and get better from this and understand how to react to situations better in the future.”
Senior Jelena Mijatovic led the Tigers and tied for the match lead with 14 kills, followed by Marina Skender with nine. Junior Melody Clark led the match with six blocks, while Ivana Kuzmic recorded five. Junior Kassi Mikulik led the team with 15 digs, followed by 10 each by Skender and Kyna Washington.
Alabama was led by Bridget Fuentez with 14 kills and Sarah Snider with 13. Lindsey Buteyn led the Crimson Tide with five blocks, while Jessica Yearout led the match with 24 digs.
After winning the first game, the Tigers dropped three straight to fall to Alabama. It marked the first four-game loss of the season for LSU, whose only previous loss was to nationally ranked Texas A&M in five games.
In the first game, the pair were tied six times before Alabama took a 15-11 lead, the largest by the Crimson Tide of the game. After the media timeout, LSU scored five-straight to take the 16-15 advantage.
The pair were tied five more times before the Tigers used an Alabama error, a service ace by Romero and a kill by Clark to take a three-point lead, 23-20. The Crimson Tide got within one, 24-23, but a 6-2 run closed out the game for LSU, 30-25.
The Tigers jumped out to a 5-1 lead early in the second game. Alabama came back to tie it up at six all. The Crimson Tide went on to take a 10-7 advantage. LSU cut it to two, 10-8, but got no closer as Alabama went on to tie the match, 30-22.
In the third game, the Tigers once again took the early lead, 4-1, but the Crimson Tide came back to tie it at six all. Alabama pulled away to a 30-17 win. It marked only the second time all season that LSU trailed 2-1 in a match.
The Crimson Tide took the early lead in the third game, 9-3, but the Tigers fought back to within three, 13-10. After Alabama extended its lead to six, 18-12, LSU used a 5-2 run to cut the lead to three. The Tigers eventually got within two, 25-23, and trailed 27-25, but the Crimson Tide closed out the match, 30-26.
LSU now travels to Auburn for a match on Sunday at 1 p.m. The match will be televised on SEC-TV in Baton Rouge on cable channel 38.
Alabama def. LSU, 25-30. 30-22. 30-17, 30-26
LSU (12-2, 2-1 SEC) (Kills-aces-blocks) – Jelena Mijatovic 14-2-2; Marina Skender 9-0-1; Melody Clark 7-0-6; Kyna Washington 5-0-0; Ivana Kuzmic 3-0-5; Heather Fierce 2-0-0; Lauren Leaumont 1-0-2; Vanessa Freeman 2-0-5; Michelle Hensgens 1-1-0; Kassi Mikulik 0-1-0; Daniela Romero 5-2-1; Totals 49-6-12.0. (Assists) – Daniela Romero 25, Heather Fierce 10. (Dig leaders) – Kassi Mikulik 15.
Alabama (14-2, 2-1 SEC) (Kills-aces-blocks) – Bridget Fuentez 14-2-2; Sarah Snider 13-0-1; Kelly Potter 10-0-2; Crystal Hudson 8-1-3; Lindsey Buteyn 8-0-5; Bridgette Slack 1-0-0; Megan Hudson 0-4-0; Jessica Yearout 0-2-0; Amy Pauly 0-2-0; Abbi Blackburn 7-0-2; Totals 61-11-10.0. (Assists) – Brigitte Slack 27, Megan Hudson 20. (Dig leaders) – Jessica Yearout 24, Sarah Snider 15.