BATON ROUGE — For the second time this weekend, the 13th-ranked LSU volleyball team earned a hard fought three-game win, knocking off Georgia, 30-23, 30-24, 31-29, on Sunday afternoon in the Maravich Center, extending the Tigers’ winning streak to 10 matches.
The win improved LSU’s overall record to 12-1 on the season as the Tigers remained perfect at 4-0 in SEC play, the only undefeated team in conference play. The Bulldogs fell to 4-10 on the season and remained winless in SEC play at 0-4. LSU has now swept Georgia in the last two meetings and two of the last three.
As a team, the Tigers recorded 58 kills, compared to just 31 for the Bulldogs, and out hit Georgia, .217 to .079. Defensively, LSU posted 68 digs to just 61 for the Bulldogs, while the pair were tied with eight blocks each. For the first time all season, the Tigers had fewer service aces than an opponent, recording six to Georgia’s eight, and the most allowed by LSU this season.
“I didn’t think that we played very well,” said LSU head coach Fran Flory. “We didn’t have the level of intensity and the level of finish that we have had throughout the course of the season. We didn’t turn this into a physical match and that is where we are successful.
“We kind of played to their style. We have to be a physically terminating team and we didn’t play like that, and when we did, we reach inside and try to do that, we made hitting errors. We need to be much more efficient. We need to get back into the gym with our offense and do a much better job of finishing plays positively for us rather than waiting for the other team to make errors.”
Freshman Lauren DeGirolamo led the match with 14 kills, one of three Tigers in double figures with kills, followed by Kyna Washington with 13 and Marina Skender with 12. DeGirolamo also recorded a team-best .355 hitting percentage with four blocks.
Skender led the match with 16 digs, followed by Kassi Mikulik and Daniela Romero with 14 each. Romero also posted 47 assists for a double-double. Freshman Brittnee Cooper, in her first career start, led the match with five blocks.
Georgia did not have a player post double figure kill totals, with Nikki Hawkins leading the Bulldogs with nine kills. She also led the team with 15 digs and 18 assists. Brooke Burlingame posted 14 digs for Georgia, followed by Maria Taylor and Renee Johnson with 10 each. Taylor also led the Bulldogs with four blocks and four aces.
“We watched them on film and sometimes it’s dangerous to watch other teams on film when they perform well on the film that you have,” said Flory. “The film that we had was them against Florida and they didn’t look very good and we even hesitated as a coaching staff to show them that film because we know that they were going to be better than how they performed in that match. Consequently our mental preparation wasn’t at the level that we felt like it needed to be walking onto the court as a team.
“As a coaching staff we knew they were pretty good, but as a team, they sat back and didn’t do their normal preparation and didn’t come with their normal level of intensity. I think we’re pretty fortunate to come away with a win. I think we played hard in certain aspects but we were very high error in areas that we can not be.”
The first game saw 11 times and five lead changes. With the Tigers trailing 19-17, LSU went on a 6-0 run, including three kills by DeGirolamo, which saw the Tigers take the lead for good. LSU went on to take the first game, 30-23.
The Tigers took the lead on the first point and never trailed in the second game. The Tigers led by as many as 11, 21-10, but Georgia came back to get as close as five, 29-24, before a blocking error by the Bulldogs on a kill by Skender gave LSU the second game and sent the Tigers into the locker room with the two-game advantage.
In the third game, there were 14 tied scores and nine lead changes. The Tigers fell behind midway through the game, 21-17, but a kill and two aces by Skender got LSU back into it before tying it up at 22 all. The Tigers then pulled ahead, 28-24, and Georgia rallied back to tie it at 29 all. LSU scored the final two points of the game and earned the game and match win on kills by DeGirolamo and Skender.
“Georgia’s youth and inexperience cost them today,” said Flory. “They made some critical errors at some key times that changed the momentum of the match back in our direction and that made it hard on them. This was a match that they played hard enough that if they could have kept their play at a high enough level then we would still be playing right now. They would have extended this match.”
LSU remains at home next weekend to face the Mississippi schools. Fans are encouraged to show their Tiger pride by wearing gold against Ole Miss on Friday, Sept. 29. Admission is free for those wearing gold to the game and gold “Walk on the Wild Side” t-shirts will be given away.
On Sunday, Oct. 1 against Mississippi State is “Camp Reunion Safari Day”. It is a chance for anyone who participated in the Fran Flory Tiger volleyball camps to get into the match free by wearing their camp t-shirt. Trading cards will be given away for a postgame autograph session.
No. 13 LSU def. Georgia, 30-23, 30-24, 31-29
Georgia (4-10, 0-4 SEC) (Kills-aces-blocks) – Nikki Hawkins 9-2-1; Maria Taylor 7-4-4; Renee Johnson 6-1-0; Brooke Peugh 5-1-3; Simona Speed 2-0-1; Anjelica Partridge 1-0-2; Brooke Burlingame 1-0-0; Totals 31-8-8.0. (Assists) – Nikki Hawkins 18. (Dig leaders) – Nikki Hawkins 15, Brooke Burlingame 14, Maria Taylor 10, Renee Johnson 10.
No. 13 LSU (12-1, 4-0 SEC) (Kills-aces-blocks) – Lauren DeGirolamo 14-0-4; Kyna Washington 13-2-0; Marina Skender 12-2-3; Melody Clark 9-1-2; Brittnee Cooper 7-0-5; Daniela Romero 3-0-0; Lauren Leaumont 0-0-0; Michelle Hensgens 0-0-0; Kassi Mikulik 0-1-0; Totals 58-6-8.0. (Assists) – Daniela Romero 47. (Dig leaders) – Marina Skender 16, Daniela Romero 14, Kassi Mikulik 14.