SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — After taking the first game, the 16th-ranked LSU volleyball team could not keep it going as the Tigers fell to 14th-ranked California, 25-30, 30-23, 30-17, 30-16, on Friday night at Mott Gym on the campus of Cal Poly.
The loss ends LSU’s season at 26-6, as the Tigers tied for the most wins in a season since 1992 and captured their second straight Southeastern Conference Western Division title. The Golden Bears improved to 21-9 on the season and will advance to take on the winner of the Cal Poly-Michigan match.
“Certainly a disappointing end to our season, but a great run by these kids,” said LSU head coach Fran Flory. “I’m really proud of what they accomplished. I’m kind of sorry for them that it didn’t end the way they had hoped. I think they had a very successful year but we probably missed a golden opportunity to advance. I think we came across a team that got hot and we couldn’t finish.”
Despite the national rankings of both teams, neither team earned one of 16 national seeds as 15th-ranked Cal Poly is the No. 15 national seed. California is making its fifth-straight and 10th overall NCAA Tournament appearance, while LSU was making it second straight appearance and eighth overall.
After hitting .410 in the first game, the Tigers did not hit above .133 in any game after. Conversely, the Golden Bears hit .227 in game one and improved steadily after that to a match-best .565 in game four. California posted 66 kills, 11 blocks and 61 digs in the match, while LSU recorded only 49 kills with 11 blocks and 40 digs.
“You have to credit Cal because after game one, they forced us into their type of game and their tempo and we could never regain the momentum,” said Flory. “It’s disappointing that we weren’t tough enough to regain the momentum and we strayed from our gameplans and didn’t maintain our discipline and give ourselves and opportunity to get back in it.”
Sophomores Marina Skender and Kyna Washington led the Tigers with 12 kills each, followed by senior Melody Clark with 10. Clark led the team in blocks with four, while senior Kassi Mikulik posted a team-best 10 digs. She finished the season having recorded double-figure digs in every match with a school record 535 digs.
Hana Cutura led the Golden Bears and the match with 15 kills, followed by Ellen Orchard with 14, Angie Pressey with 13 and Morgan Beck with 11. Beck and Cutura tied for the match high with five blocks each, while Jillian Davis finished with a match-best 16 digs.
“Cal’s outsides did a great job and we didn’t have an answer for that ,” said Flory.
With the score tied at three in the first game, the Tigers went on a 4-0 run that gave them the lead for good. LSU would stretch the lead to five, 12-7, before California came back to get within three, 16-13. The Tigers pulled away again and led by as many as seven, 28-21. The Golden Bears fought off two game points before LSU put away the first game, 30-26.
In the second game, the Tigers took a small advantage early. But California came back to take the lead for good as part of a 6-0 run that saw the score go from 8-6 in favor of LSU to 12-8 for the Golden Bears. California stretched the lead to as many as 10, 22-12, but the Tigers would not go away without a fight. With the Golden Bears holding game point, 29-20, LSU scored three straight to get it to within six, but after a Cal timeout, it took game two, 30-23.
The Tigers fell behind early in the third game and never recovered. LSU trailed 3-1 and again, 5-2, and never got closer than two, 6-4, the rest of the way. The Golden Bears used eight blocks and a .448 hitting percentage, after hitting no better than .244 in games one and two with two total blocks, to take game three, 30-17.
Unfortunately the fourth game played out in much the same way as the third for the Tigers. LSU fell behind early on and could never recover. The Tigers were as close as 13-9, but California used a 17-7 run to close out the game and the match, 30-16.
No. 14 California def. No. 16 LSU, 25-30. 30-23, 30-17, 30-16
No. 14 California (21-9) (Kills-aces-blocks) – Ellen Orchard 14-2-3; Angie Pressey 13-1-1; Morgan Beck 11-0-5; Samantha Carter 6-0-2; Natalie Smart 6-0-3; Kristen Kathan 1-1-0; Jillian Davis 0-0-0; Cat Dailey 0-0-0; Hana Cutura 15-0-5; Totals 66-4-11.0. (Assists) – Samantha Carter 51. (Dig leaders) – Jillian Davis 16, Samantha Carter 10, Angie Pressey 10.
No. 15 LSU (26-6) (Kills-aces-blocks) – Kyna Washington 12-1-0; Marina Skender 12-031; Melody Clark 10-0-4; Lauren DeGirolamo 7-0-2; Vanessa Freeman 3-0-1; Daniela Romero 3-1-2; Elena Martinez 0-0-0; Michelle Hensgens 0-1-0; Kassi Mikulik 0-0-0; Brittnee Cooper 2-0-0; Totals 49-3-70. (Assists) – Daniela Romero 41. (Dig leaders) – Kassi Mikulik 10.