COLUMBIA, S.C. — For the second-straight year and just the third time since 1992, the 10th-ranked LSU volleyball team reached the 20-win plateau with a 29-31, 30-23, 30-21, 30-19 win over South Carolina on Sunday afternoon at the Volleyball Competition Facility.
With the win, the Tigers improved to 20-3 on the season and 12-2 in Southeastern Conference play, matching the most league wins for LSU since 1992 and the second most in school history. The loss dropped the Gamecocks to 12-13 on the season and 5-9 in conference play. With the two-match season sweep of South Carolina, the Tigers have now won five straight over the Gamecocks to even the overall series record at 11 each.
For the first time in 2006, LSU had a pair of players reach the 20-kill mark, with sophomore Kyna Washington and Marina Skender each posting 20 kills. In addition, Washington recorded a match best and career high .486 hitting percentage with seven digs, two service aces and three blocks. Skender posted a double-double with 14 digs, while leading the match with three service aces and also recording two blocks.
“What a great match for Kyna Washington,” said LSU head coach Fran Flory. “I thought she played exceptionally well. Marina Skender came back after a slow start.”
Senior Melody Clark posted 11 kills for the Tigers, while freshman Brittnee Cooper recorded 10. The pair tied for the match high with eight blocks each, which tied the season best for Clark and is a career high for Cooper. Senior Kassi Mikulik led LSU with 16 digs.
After recording her 4,000th career assist on Friday, senior Daniela Romero posted her 1,000th assist for the season against South Carolina with 55 in the match. In addition, she had four kills, nine digs and three blocks. Freshman Lauren DeGirolamo added eight kills and four blocks for the Tigers.
Shonda Cole led South Carolina with 13 kills, followed by Meredith Moorhead at 12 and Marija Milosevic with 11. Sarah Cline led the match with 17 digs, while Petra Lorenzi posted 13 and Dinelia Concepcion recorded 12. Belita Salters led the Gamecocks with five blocks in the match.
As a team, the Tigers recorded 20 more kills than South Carolina, 73-53, while also out blocking the Gamecocks, 16-11. In addition, LSU came back from a .115 hitting percentage in game one, to record a .287 clip for the match. South Carolina, however, dropped from a .225 mark in game one to a .180 clip overall.
“I’m really proud of our defense,” said Flory. “We fought really hard. But South Carolina did a great job and we are very fortunate to get out of here with a win.”
In the first game, South Carolina jumped out to an early 14-3 lead. The Tigers began their comeback and cut the Gamecock lead to five, 15-10. USC pulled ahead again, leading by as many as seven, 19-12, before LSU used a 5-0 run to help cut the lead to only two, 21-19.
South Carolina stretched the lead out to four, 26-22, before the Tigers mounted a late charge. With LSU trailing 28-24, the Tigers scored five straight to take their first lead of the game and hold game point. A hitting error by Skender on game point tied it up before the Gamecocks took advantage with back-to-back kills to earn the game one win, 31-29.
“I’m most proud of this team for the comeback we had in game one,” said Flory. “We were playing really poorly and were down really far and the fact that we could come back and half a swing for game point will go a long way toward building confidence so that this team knows that regardless of the score we can come back if we get into our rhythm.”
For the second straight game, LSU fell behind early to start off game two. The Tigers trailed, 8-4, before coming back to tie it up at eight all. After three more tied scores, LSU took the lead for good, 12-11. The Tigers pulled out to a 15-11 lead before South Carolina called timeout. USC never got closer than two the rest of the way. With LSU leading 20-18, the Tigers scored five straight to put the game away. A kill by Washington sent LSU into the locker room even with the Gamecocks as a game each, 30-23.
Just like the first two games, game three saw the Tigers fall behind early, 8-4, but came back to tie it up at eight. After two tied scores, LSU took the lead for good, 11-10. The Tigers used a 4-0 run to take the 16-11 advantage and South Carolina never got closer than two the rest of the way. With LSU leading 19-17, the Tigers went on an 8-1 run that sealed the game as LSU pulled ahead, two games to one, 30-21.
In the fourth game, the Tigers finally took a lead early in the game, running out to a 12-4 advantage that the Gamecocks could not recover from. South Carolina never got closer than six the rest of the way as LSU easily took game four, 30-19.
LSU now returns home to face nationally ranked Florida at 7 p.m. on Nov. 3. The Tigers fell to the Gators in Gainesville two weeks ago, one of only two losses for LSU in SEC play this season. The Tigers will then take on Auburn on Nov. 5 at 1:30 p.m.
Students are encouraged to come out against No. 7 Florida for “Gold Digger Student Night”. It is the Student Point game and “Gold Digger” t-shirts will be given away.
Mizuno is helping youth volleyball as part of “Mizuno Team Day” against Auburn. Local teams get into the match free with “Advocate” tickets available through the LSU Promotions office at 578-8960. In addition, LSU backpacks will be given away at the match.
No. 10 LSU def. South Carolina, 29-31, 30-23, 30-21, 30-19
No. 10 LSU (20-3, 12-2 SEC) (Kills-aces-blocks) – Kyna Washington 20-2-3; Marina Skender 20-3-2; Melody Clark 11-0-8; Brittnee Cooper 10-0-8; Lauren DeGirolamo 8-0-4; Daniela Romero 4-0-3; Lauren Leaumont 0-0-0; Elena Martinez 0-0-0; Michelle Hensgens 0-0-0; Kassi Mikulik 0-0-0; Totals 73-5-16.0. (Assists) – Daniela Romero 55. (Dig leaders) – Kassi Mikulik 16, Marina Skender 14..
South Carolina (12-13, 5-9 SEC) (Kills-aces-blocks) -Shonda Cole 13-0-3; Meredith Moorhead 12-0-3; Belita Salters 6-0-5; Ivana Kujundzic 0-0-2; Alexcis Thomson 0-0-0; Dinelia Concepcion 0-0-0; Crystal Johnson 3-0-4; Sarah Cline 0-1-0; Lynae Vanden Hull 8-0-4; Marija Milosevic 11-2-0; Petra Lorenzi 0-1-0; Totals 53-4-11.0. (Assists) – Petra Lorenzi 22, Alexcis Thomson 21. (Dig leaders) – Sarah Cline 17, Petra Lorenzi 13, Dinelia Concepcion 12.