ST. LOUIS — The LSU volleyball team earned a three-game sweep over 22nd-ranked Minnesota, 30-18, 31-29, 30-23, before defeating Saint Louis, 30-17, 31-29, 28-30, 30-18, on Saturday afternoon to claim the 2006 Billiken Invitational championship.
With the wins, the Tigers moved to 5-1 on the season with their only loss in five games to No. 2 Penn State last weekend. The Golden Gophers dropped to 1-1 on the year, while the Billikens fell to 3-3 on the season, going winless in tournament play.
The win over the 22nd-ranked Golden Gophers was the first for the Tigers over a nationally ranked team since LSU upset No. 8 Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl Classic early last season. It is just the Tigers’ second win over a nationally ranked team since 1992, although LSU did sweep Tennessee in Southeastern Conference play last year before the Lady Vols were ranked. Tennessee later went on to advance to the NCAA Final Four.
“This was a great weekend for our team,” said LSU head coach Fran Flory. “We were pressured in many different ways and we fought through and succeeded. I think we matured as a team and played with more balance and more confidence.
“What was great is that we matched up against three different styles of play and were able to adapt and truly lead the match rather than be forced into a style of play.”
Senior Daniela Romero was named the Billiken Invitational Most Valuable Player, while junior Vanessa Freeman earned all-tournament team honors. Romero led the team to a .312 hitting percentage for the tournament with 18.18 kills per game. In addition, she posted 13.73 assists per game with 1.45 kills per game herself.
Freeman recorded 2.73 kills per game with a .389 hitting percentage. She also had 10 blocks for a 0.91 blocks per game average.
“Dee Romero had probably her best performance in an LSU uniform this weekend,” said Flory. “She did a great job of getting the ball to our hitters in the right situations and had great accuracy. Vanessa is a force and I think she made a statement this weekend that she can certainly play with the best and be impressive.”
For the weekend, Marina Skender led the Tigers with 4.00 kills per game, while Melody Clark recorded 3.55 kills per game and Lauren DeGirolamo ad 3.36. Kassi Mikulik led the team with 4.45 digs per game, followed by Romero with 2.45. DeGirolamo posted 1.55 blocks per game, followed by Freeman at 0.91. Skender recorded a team-best 14 of LSU’s 26 service aces for the weekend.
After falling behind 2-1 in the first game, LSU came back and took the lead, 3-2, and never looked back. The Tigers led 12-11 before a 6-0 run gave LSU the commanding 18-11 advantage. The Golden Gophers got no closer than six the remainder of the way as the Tigers used a 4-0 run to close out the first game, 30-18, on a solo block by Clark.
LSU fell behind the eight ball early in the second game, training, 11-8, and trailed by as many as four, 16-12. Behind strong serving by Elena Martinez, the Tigers scored eight straight points to take the lead for the first time in the game.
Minnesota came back to take a lead again at 22-21. There would be seven more tied scores before LSU would take its next lead at 29-28 on a service ace by Clark. A kill by the Golden Gophers tied it up again. Washington then recorded a kill to give the Tigers their second game point and they converted, scoring on a block by Freeman and DeGirolamo.
It would take another comeback effort in the third game for LSU, but the Tigers came through again. Falling behind, 15-11, LSU mounted a 10-1 rally that saw the Tigers take the lead and pull away. Included in the 20-1 run was a 7-0 run that put the game away for LSU. The Tigers went on to take the game and the match, 30-23.
Skender led the match with 13 kills, while also recording three service aces and seven digs. Despite not playing at full strength, Freeman recorded 11 kills and a .625 hitting percentage with three blocks for the Tigers.
Clark also posted 11 kills with a .389 hitting percentage and two blocks for the Tigers. Mikulik led the match with 15 digs, while also recording two service aces. Martinez also posted a pair of aces for LSU.
In the first game against St. Louis, the Tigers picked up where they left off against Minnesota. LSU jumped out to a 13-7 lead. The Tigers steadily pulled away, completing the game one win easily, 30-17. LSU hit at a .406 clip, committing just four errors with 17 kills, while the Billikens managed just a .053 percentage.
St. Louis came out fighting in the second frame. The game saw 19 tied scores and six lead changes. After being tied at 18 all, the Tigers managed a 22-18 lead, but the Billikens came back to tie it up at 26 all. With LSU holding game point, 29-28, an attacking error by Skender tied it up once again. St. Louis then committed a service error to give the Tigers their second game point and Skender redeemed herself with the game-winning service ace.
LSU found itself in a hole again in the third game, but this time it could not quite come back. The Tigers fell behind 14-11, but were able to tie it up with a 3-0 run. Falling behind 20-15, LSU used two key blocks and several kills to come all the way back to tie it up at 25 all.
With the Billikens leading 29-27 and holding their first game point, the Tigers got a kill from Clark to keep the game alive. Unfortunately, Clark had an attacking error on the second game point for St. Louis to send the match to a fourth game, 30-28.
In game four, the pair started out going back-and forth until LSU finally broth through with a three-point rally and pull ahead 11-8. With the Tigers leading 13-11, LSU went on a 6-0 run to put the game and the match out of reach. The Tigers closed out the match on back-to-back errors by St. Louis, 30-18.
Clark led the match with a career-best 18 kills, while DeGirolamo posted 15 kills. Mikulik led the match with 20 digs, while Romero recorded 13 to go along with her 49 assists. DeGirolamo also led the match with eight blocks, while Freeman tied her career best with six blocks.
LSU will return to the road next weekend for the Dayton Marriott Invitational. The Tigers will face host Dayton on Friday at 6 p.m. before taking on Indiana on Saturday at noon and closing out the tournament at 4 p.m. against Wake Forest.
LSU def. No. 22 Minnesota, 30-18, 31-29, 30-23
No. 22 Minnesota (1-1) (Kills-aces-blocks) – Meredith Nelson 8-0-0; Meghan Cumpston 6-1-3; Kyla Roehrig 6-0-1; Jessy Jones 4-0-5; Rachel Hartmann 1-0-0; Krista Chin 0-1-0; Kelly Fallon 0-0-0; Rachelle Hagerty 0-0-0; Michele Wilber 0-0-0; Christine Tan 0-0-0; Katie Vatterrodt 11-0-2; Totals 36-2-8.0. (Assists) – Rachel Hartmann 29. (Dig leaders) – Christine Tan 10.
LSU (4-1) (Kills-aces-blocks) – Marina Skender 13-3-0; Melody Clark 12-1-2; Vanessa Freeman 11-0-3; Kyna Washington 8-0-0; Lauren DeGirolamo 6-0-3; Daniela Romero 4-0-0; Lauren Leaumont 1-0-0; Elena Martinez 1-2-0; Kassi Mikulik 0-2-0; Totals 56-8-5.0. (Assists) – Daniela Romero 43. (Dig leaders) – Kassi Mikulik 15.
LSU def. St. Louis, 30-17, 31-29, 28-30, 30-18
LSU (5-1) (Kills-aces-blocks) – Melody Clark 18-0-3; Lauren DeGirolamo 15-0-8; Marina Skender 11-4-2; Vanessa Freeman 7-0-6; Daniela Romero 7-0-2; Kyna Washington 2-0-0; Lauren Leaumont 8-1-0; Elena Martinez 1-1-0; Kassi Mikulik 0-0-0; Totals 69-6-11.0. (Assists) – Daniela Romero 49. (Dig leaders) – Kassi Mikulik 20, Daniela Romero 13.
St. Louis (3-3) (Kills-aces-blocks) – Angela Powers 14-0-0; Sutton Lasater 10-0-3; Sammi McCloud 9-0-3; Sally Warning 8-0-1; Lauren Christman 6-0-3; Whitney Roth 3-1-1; Chrissy King 0-0-0; Whitney Behrens 0-1-0; Sarah Entzeroth 0-0-0; Mo Shortal 5-0-0; Totals 55-2-6.0. (Assists) – Whitney Roth 47. (Dig leaders) – Whitney Behrens 18, Chrissy King 10.