KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — After falling behind 0-2, the 18th-ranked LSU volleyball team fought all the way back, winning the next three games to defeat 13th-ranked Tennessee, 26-30, 35-37, 30-20, 30-22, 15-11, on Friday evening in the Stokely Center to open Southeastern Conference play.
With the win, the Tigers extended their winning streak to six matches while improving to 9-1 overall and 1-0 in SEC play. The loss ended the Lady Vols’ three-match winning streak and dropped them to 8-2 on the season and 0-1 in league play. It marked the first time LSU has come back from an 0-2 deficit in a match since a five-game win over Miami on Sept. 17, 2004 in the Hurricane Frances Invitational in Dallas, Texas.
“What a great win,” said LSU head coach Fran Flory. “What an outstanding effort in terms of being very mentally tough and battling back. I’m really proud of this team. They really fought through and that’s a huge win for us but we also know that this is a long season and all that did was put us a little ahead of the others. We have important matches left to come and one match is not going to define our season.”
After having trouble finding the floor offensively in the first two games, the Tigers turned it on over the final three games. LSU hit almost .300 over the rest of the match after barely hitting .100 to start, out killing Tennessee, 52-26 over the final three games and out digging the Lady Vols 42-33 to end the match.
“They kind of knocked us back in games one and through a portion of game two, but once we kind of got our rhythm in game two, we knocked them back,” said Flory. “I think that our blocking and defense outplayed them in terms of that phase of the game and ultimately once we got on track offensively I think our offense was the deciding factor in games three, four and five. In games one and two, we couldn’t get into a rhythm and you have to credit them. They kept us off balance and they were in their rhythm.”
As a team, the Tigers recorded 87 kills with a .227 hitting percentage overall, while recording 73 digs and a season-best 18 blocks and six service aces. Tennessee posted 61 kills for the match with a .160 attacking mark, with 65 digs. In addition, the best blocking team in the league was held to 15 blocks in the match and no service aces.
Marina Skender led the Tigers and the match with 22 kills, while also recording 15 digs and four service aces. She was one of five LSU players in double-figures in kills for the match. Kyna Washington posted 17 kills, followed by Lauren DeGirolamo with 16. DeGirolamo also tied for the match high with a career-best 10 blocks for her first career double-double.
Vanessa Freeman posted a team-best .370 hitting percentage with 14 kills, while also tying her career high with seven blocks. Melody Clark recorded 12 kills with eight blocks, a season best for the senior. Daniela Romero led the match with 17 digs, while also recording a career-best 74 assists. Skender and Kassi Mikulik each posted 15 digs, while Elena Martinez had 13.
“It kind of felt like it was a prize fight and we ended up having more kills and throwing more punches and going after them a little more aggressively than they came after us,” said Flory. “I think that is a tribute to our senior group. I thought Dee, Kassi and Mel did a great job, and Lauren Leaumont as well coming in.”
Sarah Blum led Tennessee with 18 kills, while Yuliya Stoyanova posted 17 and Kelsey Fautsch recorded 12. Stoyanova also tied for the team lead with 14 digs with Chelsea Noble, while Annie Sadowski posted 12. Blum tied DeGirolamo for the match lead with 10 blocks.
In the first game, the Tigers fell behind early. The Lady Vols went on a 7-0 run that gave them the 11-4 lead. LSU fought back, chipping away at the Tennessee lead until the Tigers eventually tied it up at 17 all. LSU then took the lead at 20-19 and led by as many as three, 23-20. The Lady Vols came back to tie it up at 23 all and with the Tigers leading 26-24, Tennessee went on a 6-0 run, aided by four LSU attacking errors, to close out the first game, 30-26.
The Tigers fell behind early in the second game as well, trailing 14-9 early on. LSU once again came back to tie it up at 15 all. With the score tied at 20, the Lady Vols went on a 3-0 run that put the Tigers down, but LSU once again rallied back to tie it up and take the lead, 25-24.
The Tigers led, 27-27, before Tennessee tied it up and eventually sent it to the first game point, 29-28. The game would see seven more game points, including two by LSU and five by the Lady Vols, before Tennessee eventually took the second game, 37-35.
Coming out of the locker room, the Tigers were not willing to go down in the match without a fight and showed a renewed life in game three. With the score tied at 12, LSU went on a 4-0 run that gave it the largest lead of the match. The Tigers stretched the lead to 25-15, pulling away with a pair of service aces by Skender and a offensive explosion not found in the first two games. LSU completed the game three win with a kill by Romero, 30-20, and kept the match alive for another game.
After recording just a .104 hitting percentage in the first two games, the Tigers posted a .390 clip in game three, including 22 kills. Conversely, LSU held Tennessee, which had hit .207 with 35 kills through two games, to a .094 mark with only eight kills in game three.
The Tigers continued to pound away in the fourth game. After falling behind, 12-10, LSU tied it up at 12 all and then went on a 6-0 run that gave the Tigers the lead for good. The Lady Vols would get no closer than three the rest of the way as LSU pulled away for the win, 30-22, and send the match to a fifth game for only the second time this season for the Tigers.
Again, LSU pointed good numbers offensively, hitting .224 with 19 kills, while holding Tennessee to just 10 kills and a .075 hitting percentage. In addition, the Tigers increased their block total to 18 for the match with five more in game four.
In the fifth game, the score went back and forth with the game tied at five all until LSU broke through for the first substantial lead, 7-5. The Tigers held the lead the rest of the way, with the Lady Vols getting within one, 10-9, and again at 12-11, but LSU held off the Tennessee comeback effort. The Tigers then closed out the game and the match with a 3-0 run on a kill by Clark.
The Tigers will remain on the road to take on Kentucky on Sunday. LSU will face the Wildcats at 1 p.m. (CT) in Memorial Coliseum. The match will be televised live on SEC-TV in Baton Rouge on Fox Sports Southwest (cable channel 38). The Tigers will return home next weekend to face South Carolina and Georgia for their first home matches since the season opening weekend.
No. 18 LSU def. No. 13 Tennessee, 26-30, 35-37, 30-20, 30-22, 15-11
No. 18 LSU (9-1, 1-0 SEC) (Kills-aces-blocks) – Marina Skender 22-4-2; Kyna Washington 17-0-3; Lauren DeGirolamo 16-0-10; Vanessa Freeman 14-0-7; Melody Clark 12-1-8; Daniela Romero 5-0-3; Lauren Leaumont 1-1-0; Elena Martinez 0-0-0; Kassi Mikulik 0-0-0; Totals 87-6-18.0. (Assists) – Daniela Romero 74. (Dig leaders) – Daniela Romero 17, Marina Skender 15, Kassi Mikulik 15, Elena Martinez 13.
No. 13 Tennessee (8-2, 0-1 SEC) (Kills-aces-blocks) – Sarah Blum 18-0-10; Yuliya Stoyanova 17-0-2; Kelsey Fautsch 12-0-2; Leah Hinkey 6-0-4; Mindy Flynn 5-0-4; Chelsea Noble 3-0-5; Jena Berg 0-0-0; Annie Sadowski 0-0-0; Joselyn Johnson 0-0-0; Chloe Goldman 0-0-0; Milan Clarke 0-0-0; Kylie Marshall 0-0-0; Jaye Loyd 0-0-0; Totals 61-0-15.0. (Assists) – Chelsea Noble 48. (Dig leaders) – Yuliya Stoyanova 14, Chelsea Noble 14, Annie Sadowski 12.