TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The LSU volleyball team could not get the key points at the crucial times as Alabama defeated the Tigers, 30-27, 30-27, 30-28, in the first round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament on Friday night at the CAVE.
With the loss, LSU drops to 21-7 on the season and concludes play in the SEC Tournament. The Crimson Tide now advance to face second-seeded Tennessee on Saturday at 6 p.m. in the tournament semi-finals.
In games one and three, the Tigers held late leads on Alabama, but could not capitalize. LSU had ball control problems on the serve receive over the final 10 points of each game that made the difference as the Tigers lost each game by three points or less.
“I thought that Alabama did a great job of getting us on the defensive,” said LSU head coach Fran Flory. “We could never get any rhythm offensively. Everything they did, we did not respond favorably to. We were not very resilient and consequently they were able to make some great plays and play great defense.”
As a team, the Tigers out killed Alabama, 47-39, while each recorded nine blocks. The Crimson Tide barely edged LSU with 49 digs to 46 for the Tigers. A .157 team hitting percentage by Alabama led the match, while LSU followed closely behind with a .131 mark. The Tigers led with seven service aces to five for the Crimson Tide.
“The team that plays the hardest in tournament time on defense usually is the successful team,” said Flory. “They fought harder than we did on defense. We did not execute our game plan and did not execute our system at all. It’s a huge disappointment. We thought that we had a great week of practice and we didn’t come in here with the right approach.”
Ivana Kuzmic led LSU with 10 kills and a match-best six blocks. In addition, she recorded a .588 hitting percentage, posting no errors on 17 attempts. Jelena Mijatovic, Marina Skender and Melody Clark each recorded eight kills for the Tigers, followed by Kyna Washington with seven.
Kassi Mikulik tied for the match-high with 13 digs, followed by Mijatovic with nine. Daniela Romero posted a team-best 38 assists, while recording six kills and eight digs.
Bridget Fuentez led the match with 11 kills for Alabama, followed by Rachael Green with seven. Jessica Yearout posted 13 digs, followed by Sarah Snider with 10, while Green led the Crimson Tide with five blocks.
In the first game, LSU took a 4-0 lead to open play. The Tigers led by as many as six late in the game, 20-14, before Alabama began a comeback. With LSU leading 22-15, the Crimson Tide scored eight straight to take the 23-22 advantage, their first of the game. LSU regained the lead and led 27-25 before Alabama scored the final five points of the game, 30-27.
Neither team could get anything going offensively as the Tigers recorded 12 kills with a -.043 hitting percentage, while the Crimson Tide posted only seven kills with a -.027 mark. LSU recorded four blocks, while Alabama led with six, including three in a row to close out the game.
The Crimson Tide took the lead in the second game and the Tigers had to fight back. Trailing 11-7, LSU fought back to tie it at 13 all. Alabama again took the lead by as many as four, 21-17, but the Tigers rallied back to tie it up at 24 all on a kill by Kuzmic. With the game knotted at 26, the Crimson Tide scored three straight to send it to game point.
LSU fought off the first game point with a kill by Romero, but the Tigers were called for being out of rotation on the serve on the second game point to give the game to Alabama, 30-27.
The offense was slightly better in the second game as LSU posted 16 kills with a .143 hitting percentage and the Crimson Tide recorded 14 kills with a .211 mark. The Tigers out blocked Alabama, 2-1, and out dug the Crimson Tide, 18-17, but could not come away with the crucial points when they needed them.
The third game played out in much the same way as the first. LSU jumped out to a 3-0 lead and led 7-3 before Alabama came back to tie it up at eight all. The Tigers again took the lead and led by as many as six late in the game, 24-28, but the Crimson Tide came back to tie it up at 27 all. Alabama scored five of the final six points of the game to take the match, 30-28.
The Tigers will now wait to learn if they have earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. The pairings will be announced during the NCAA Tournament selection show on Sunday, Nov. 27, which will be broadcast on ESPNews.
Alabama def. LSU, 30-27, 30-27, 30-28
Alabama (22-8, 9-7 SEC) (Kills-aces-blocks) – Bridget Fuentez 11-0-2; Rachael Green 7-0-5; Sarah Snider 6-0-3; Crystal Hudson 5-0-2; Abbi Blackburn 2-0-4; Bridgette Slack 0-1-0; Megan Hudson 0-0-0; Jessica Yearout 0-3-0; Amy Pauly 0-0-0; Kelly Potter 8-0-2; Totals 39-5-9.0. (Assists) – Brigitte Slack 18, Megan Hudson 14. (Dig leaders) – Jessica Yearout 13, Sarah Snider 10.
LSU (21-7, 11-5 SEC) (Kills-aces-blocks) – Ivana Kuzmic 10-0-6; Jelena Mijatovic 8-2-1; Marina Skender 8-3-3; Melody Clark 8-0-1; Kyna Washington 7-0-3; Daniela Romero 6-2-2; Lauren Leaumont 0-0-0; Heather Fierce 0-0-0; Kassi Mikulik 0-0-0; Totals 47-7-9.0. (Assists) – Daniela Romero 38. (Dig leaders) – Kassi Mikulik 13.