ATHENS, Ga. — The LSU volleyball team extended its winning streak to three matches as the Tigers swept Georgia, 30-20, 30-21, 30-24, on Friday night at the Ramsey Center.
With the win, the Tigers improve to 16-4 on the season and 6-3 in Southeastern Conference play, defeating the Bulldogs for the first time in Athens since 2001. The loss dropped Georgia to 7-11 overall and 2-6 in league action.
“I think this was an outstanding performance by our team,” said LSU head coach Fran Flory. “I thought we played very well. I think it was impressive the way we fought on defense. We made some tremendous defensive plays both in blocking and in the back court. Our offense is finally back in sync, which is something that we have worked on for the past two weeks.”
As a team, LSU out manned Georgia in every statistical category, with the Tigers posting 55 kills to only 29 for the Bulldogs. LSU held Georgia without a player in double-figures for kills while recording a .287 hitting percentage for the match. Defensively, LSU recorded nine blocks to only four for the Bulldogs with 50 digs to Georgia’s 42.
Freshman Marina Skender led the match with 15 kills for the Tigers, followed by Jelena Mijatovic and Kyna Washington with 11 each. Junior Melody Clark posted a match-best six blocks, while Daniela Romero recorded a double-double with a team-best 16 digs and 39 assists. Kassi Mikulik also recorded double-figures in digs with 11.
“I thought Marina did a great job tonight,” said Flory. “Dee (Romero) set the volleyball very well offensively and did a nice job defensively with 16 digs.”
With the score tied at two all to start the first game, LSU went on an eight to two run to pull ahead by six. Georgia never got within three the rest of the way as the Tigers took game one, 30-20.
In addition to out killing the Bulldogs, 15-8, LSU hit at a .344 clip as a team, compared to a .000 mark for Georgia. Skender led the way with four kills for the Tigers, followed by three each for Kuzmic and Washington, while Clark added three blocks.
In the second game, the teams were tied at five before LSU went on a 7-2 run to jump out to a 12-7 advantage. With the Tigers leading 17-14, LSU went on a 7-0 run that stretched the lead to 10 points, the largest of the game. The Bulldogs got to within five points, 26-21, before the Tigers closed it out with a 4-0 run on a kill by Skender.
Once again LSU dominated Georgia in kills with 17 for the Tigers to only seven for the Bulldogs. Despite hitting just .167 in game two, LSU still managed to out hit Georgia, which managed fewer kills than errors with a -.056 clip. Skender and Washington each posted five kills, while Skender, Clark and Kuzmic each added two blocks.
For the first time in the match, the Tigers had to play from behind after the Bulldogs took the 9-5 lead. LSU fought back to tie it up at 12 on a kill by Washington and take the lead on a Georgia error. After the pair traded six more tied scores, the Tigers took the lead for good, 19-18, on a kill by Washington. LSU pulled away to take the game and the match, 30-24.
The Tigers now travel to face No. 4 Florida in Gainesville on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. (CDT). The Gators have not lost a conference match this season and have lost only three regular-season SEC matches since 1990, including one to LSU.
LSU def. Georgia, 30-20, 30-21, 30-24
LSU (16-4, 6-3 SEC) (Kills-aces-blocks) – Marina Skender 15-0-3; Jelena Mijatovic 11-1-1; Kyna Washington 11-0-1; Ivana Kuzmic 9-0-3; Daniela Romero 6-2-1; Melody Clark 3-1-6; Lauren Leaumont 0-0-0; Heather Fierce 0-0-0; Kassi Mikulik 0-0-0; Totals 55-4-9.0. (Assists) – Daniela Romero 39. (Dig leaders) – Daniela Romero 16, Kassi Mikulik 11.
Georgia (7-11, 2-6 SEC) (Kills-aces-blocks) – Alexandra Oquendo 8-0-3; Maria Taylor 6-0-1; Chelsea Young 4-1-0; Julia Petruschke 3-1-0; Meagan Welch 3-0-1; Alexis Morgan 2-0-1; Angela Hale 3-0-0; Simona Speed 0-0-0; Amy Krahn 0-0-0; Brooke Burlingame 0-1-0; Audra Janak 0-0-0; Liz Pace 0-1-0; Totals 29-4-4.0. (Assists) – Chelsea Young 16. (Dig leaders) – Liz Pace 12.