FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The 10th-ranked LSU volleyball team made it 13 in a row as the Tigers topped Southeastern Conference Western Division rival Arkansas, 30-24, 20-30, 30-26, 32-30, on Wednesday night at Barnhill Arena.
With the win, LSU moved to 15-1 on the season and remained perfect at 7-0 in SEC play. The Tigers have now won 13 straight, tying them for the third longest winning streak in school history. In addition, LSU remains atop the SEC standings with the best start to league play since the Tigers went undefeated at 8-0 in 1990.
The loss dropped the Lady Razorbacks to 10-5 for the year and 3-4 in conference play. Arkansas is now in fourth in the SEC West, four games behind LSU. The Tigers will face Alabama on Sunday with the Crimson Tide currently in second in the Western Division standings.
Despite the win, it was a tough match for LSU, which dropped its first game in conference play in four matches as the Tigers needed extra points to take the fourth game and the match. As a team, LSU posted 75 kills with a .258 hitting percentage. In addition, the Tigers recorded 79 digs with eight blocks and five service aces. Arkansas had 63 kills while hitting at a .225 clip for the match. The Lady’Backs posted only five blocks with six aces.
“This was exactly the kind of match we thought we were going to have,” said LSU head coach Fran Flory. “This was a war and we got knocked back on our heels at points. Arkansas served us tougher than any team has served us this year. We haven’t had six reception errors all year and when they weren’t getting aces, they were taking us out of our rhythm offensively. I think it is a great tribute to this team and the great heart they have that they were not going to be denied.”
Sophomore Kyna Washington led the match with 19 kills for LSU while also posting 10 digs for a double-double, one of three Tigers with double-doubles. Marina Skender recorded 18 kills with 19 digs, while Daniela Romero posted 62 assists with 12 digs.
Senior Kassi Mikulik led the match with 20 digs, followed by Skender, Romero, Washington and Michelle Hensgens, who had 10 digs. Melody Clark led the match with seven blocks, while also recording 13 kills for the Tigers. Lauren DeGirolamo also posted 13 kills for LSU.
“I thought Dee (Romero) did a great job of balancing our offense since she had to run it from the attack line while scrambling most of the night,” said Flory. “IT was very frustrating for her, but to have the type of balance she did in kills was a tribute to her. I think Brittnee Cooper coming on in the third and fourth games was a huge positive. We wanted to get Vanessa Freeman some action early to try to get her rhythm back and we did that. Overall, I thought our middles made the difference by coming up with big kills in big situations.”
Denitza Koleva led Arkansas with 18 kills, followed by Amy Allison with 14 and Kele Brewer with 11. Ashley Miller led the match with 25 digs, while Koleva recorded 16. Allison led the Lady Razorbacks with three blocks.
In the first game, the Tigers fell behind early, 4-1, but came back to tie it up at five all. With LSU trailing, 7-5, the Tigers went on a 5-0 run to take a 10-7 lead and never relinquish it. LSU led by as many as eight, 26-18, before Arkansas got it back to five, 29-24. The Tigers then used the game-leading fifth kill by Washington to put it away, 30-24.
For the game, LSU out killed the Lady’Backs, 16-11, while posting a .238 hitting percentage to just a .053 clip for Arkansas. In addition, the Tigers held the SEC’s second best blocking team without a block, while recording a pair of their own.
LSU fell behind to start the second game, but this time the Tigers could never recover. Although the Lady Razorbacks did not record a service ace, tougher serving put LSU on the defensive and the Tigers never quite found their rhythm offensively.
LSU found itself trailing, 9-3, before coming back to within four, 10-6. Arkansas then went on a 5-1 run that saw the Lady’Backs extend their lead to 15-7. The Tigers got within five, 20-15, but could get no closer as Arkansas went on to even the match, 30-20.
After posting a .238 mark in game one, LSU hit only .171 in game two with 15 kills and a block. Conversely, the Lady’Backs improved to a .341 hitting percentage with 20 kills and three blocks.
In the third game, the Tigers again found themselves trailing early, 6-3, but this time battled back to tie it up at seven and take the lead, 8-7. The pair would be tied six more times before Arkansas took a four-point advantage, 21-17. LSU kept eating away at the four-point deficit before eventually tying it up at 25 all as part of a 5-0 run that saw it eventually take the 28-25 advantage. The Tigers went on to take the game, 30-26, on a service ace by Clark.
LSU rebounded from the poor hitting performance of game two with a .356 mark in game three, including 19 kills, a block and three service aces. The Lady Razorbacks, after hitting over .300 for most of the game, finished out at .282, with 16 kills and were once again held without a block.
In the fourth game, LSU found itself in a hole early, 7-3, but fought back to a 7-7 tie. The Tigers pulled away and led, 20-13, and looked to have the match in hand. Arkansas then fought back to tie it up at 26 all and took the lead, 27-26. The pair were tied three more times before LSU had its first game point, but a kill by Arkansas fought it off. On the second game point a second kill kept the Lady’Backs in play. On game point No. 3, the final kill by Washington put it away, 32-30.
The Tigers remain on the road to face Alabama in Tuscaloosa on Sunday, a place LSU has not won in since 2001 and the Crimson Tide are currently second behind LSU in the SEC Western Division. The following weekend, the Tigers will travel to take on Auburn and nationally ranked Florida. LSU will next be at home on Oct. 20 for a rematch with Kentucky before facing off once again with nationally ranked Tennessee on Oct. 22.
No. 10 LSU def. Arkansas, 30-24, 20-30, 30-26, 32-30
No. 10 LSU (15-1, 7-0 SEC) (Kills-aces-blocks) – Kyna Washington 19-0-2; Marina Skender 18-2-0; Lauren DeGirolamo 13-0-1; Melody Clark 13-1-7; Daniela Romero 4-1-2; Vanessa Freeman 2-0-2; Lauren Leaumont 0-0-0; Elena Martinez 0-0-0; Michelle Hensgens 0-0-0; Kassi Mikulik 0-1-0; Brittnee Cooper 6-0-1; Totals 75-5-8.0. (Assists) – Daniela Romero 62. (Dig leaders) – Kassi Mikulik 20, Marina Skender 19, Daniela Romero 12, Kyna Washington 10, Michelle Hensgens 10.
Arkansas (10-5, 3-4 SEC) (Kills-aces-blocks) – Denitza Koleva 18-1-2; Amy Allison 14-0-3; Kele Brewer 11-0-2; Jessica Dorrell 7-0-1; Christina Lawrence 7-0-1; Lindsay Scanlan 0-2-0; Ashley Miller 0-0-0; Caira Daugherty 1-0-0; Destiny Clark 5-0-2; Totals 63-6-5.0. (Assists) – Lindsay Scanlan 27, Caira Daugherty 25. (Dig leaders) – Ashley Miller 25, Denitza Koleva 16.