BATON ROUGE — Behind a balanced team effort, the Purple squad defeated the Gold squad, 30-16, 27-30, 30-25, 30-28, in the LSU volleyball intrasquad scrimmage on Saturday night in the Maravich Center.
The team was split into two equal squads for the first two games, adding former Tiger All-SEC selection Regan Hood into the mix. Following the first game, the setters – Daniela Romero and Maggie Lonergan – switched teams. For games three and four, the teams were re-divided. The players that will likely comprise the starting line-up were on the purple team; while Hood and assistant coach John Blackwell helped the reserves compete against the starters as part of the gold squad.
“This scrimmage gave us the opportunity to play a ton of people in different situations and see how they respond to a game-type flow,” said LSU head coach Fran Flory. “I thought we got a little bit tired at the end and I think that is because this is the end of two-a-days and we are just fatigued.”
Marina Skender and Kyna Washington led the purple team with 12 kills, followed by Vanessa Freeman with 10. Lauren Leaumont led the match with 13 kills for the white squad. Lauren DeGirolamo posted double-figure kills and led the match with a .333 hitting percentage while spending time on both squads.
Defensively, the two teams had outstanding defensive matches, combining for 133 digs and 23 blocks. Freeman led the match with seven blocks, while Melody Clark and Brittnee Cooper posted six, and DeGirolamo had five. Kassi Mikulik led the match with 20 digs, followed by Michelle Hensgens and Elena Martinez with 19 each.
“I think we did a very nice job of playing defense,” said Flory. “I think our blocking was very solid and our defensive pursuit was very good. I think we have some great opportunities offensively and we’ll be very difficult to defend if our defense can keep the ball off the floor and today I think we showed that we could do that.”
In addition to the 12 kills by Washington and Skender, each also recorded 11 digs, while Skender posted three aces and three blocks and Washington added two blocks. Leaumont also recorded a double-double with 14 digs to go along with her 13 kills. The senior added three service aces as well.
Romero led the match with 46 assists, while recording a double-double with 10 digs and adding three service aces. Lonergan, in the freshman’s first action as a Tiger, posted 39 digs with six digs and two aces.
“We’re going to be a pretty balanced team both offensively and defensively,” said Flory. “I think we are going to be a team that earns our own points instead of relying on the other team. That is a huge factor and that is what the best teams in the country do.”
The Tigers will open the season next Friday on Aug. 25 against Rice in the Maravich Center in the Tiger Invitational at 7 p.m. LSU will then take on Nicholls State on Aug. 26 at 11 a.m. before closing out the two-day tournament against No. 2 Penn State at 7 p.m.
“We’re anxious to play somebody else,” said Flory. “We’re tired of playing each other and at the end of the match you could kind of see that. We kind of lulled into a routine and didn’t really push very hard. I’m anxious to play somebody else and I think this weekend will be a great challenge, but I think we’ll be ready.”
Admission to the tournament is free with an “Advocate” ticket. Those tickets are available through the LSU Promotions Department by calling (225) 578-8960. In addition, fans are encouraged to wear white to the Penn State match, and “Walk on the Wild Side” t-shirts will be given away in an attempt to “Pack Pete’s Seats” and break the LSU volleyball attendance record.