BATON ROUGE — The 25th-ranked LSU volleyball team swept Arkansas, 30-22, 30-24, 30-25, on Friday night at the Maravich Center to complete the season sweep of the Lady’Backs.
The match marked the finale of the inaugural LSU “Dig for the Cure” campaign. The Tigers raised money throughout the month of October in support of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation. Any fan who donated at least a dollar during the month is eligible to win a digital camera, which will be announced on Tuesday before the Notre Dame match.
With the win, the Tigers improved to 17-4 on the year and 9-3 in Southeastern Conference action. Just one week after Arkansas posted one of the biggest wins in school history by knocking off No. 5 Florida last Friday, the loss dropped the Lady’Backs to 10-11 on the season and 4-7 in league play.
“This speaks to the parity in our conference,” said LSU head coach Fran Flory. “The fact that Arkansas beat Florida last weekend is amazing.”
Joined with a 3-1 win over Arkansas in Fayetteville in September, LSU won both matches with the Lady’Backs this season. The Tigers have now won five straight over Arkansas, the longest winning streak over the Lady’Backs in school history. The sweep was also the third straight for LSU at home over Arkansas, dating back to 2005.
Coming off a pair of losses last weekend, the Tigers rebounded with back-to-back wins this week and are once again in sole possession of first place in the SEC Western Division. The two-time defending West champion is a half game ahead of Alabama, which knocked off Kentucky at home in five games on Friday. LSU is also a game and a half ahead of Ole Miss, which the Tigers defeated on Wednesday.
“I think our team understands the position we put ourselves in,” said Flory of LSU’s two losses last weekend and the impact it had on the team. “We’re playing with a higher sense of urgency and the need to make plays and be successful. People know that if they knock us off it will score some points for them in the postseason. We were not prepared well for that on the road. Home wins are absolutely vital and you have to knock off a few on the road as well. We feel like we’ve done that, but we are really disappointed we didn’t take care of business last weekend.
“It’s a whole lot harder to play from the lead than to come from behind,” Flory continued. “To protect the lead and be the one everyone is after every single day and to know that they are going to give you their best shot is a difficult position to be in. You can’t take a day off. You can’t have a poor match or have a subpar performance. I think that is what got us, but I think that the maturity level of this team is continuing to grow and get a little better.”
Kyna Washington and Angela Bensend led the Tigers with 11 kills each as Bensend posted a .450 hitting percentage and three blocks, while Washington added 10 kills and two blocks. Washington now needs only four kills to become just the 14th player in school history to record 1,000 for her career, and only the fifth junior to accomplish the feat.
“I was really proud of Kyna, although her stats may not be great in terms of hitting efficiency,” said Flory. “This is the most maturity she has ever shown in things that most people wouldn’t notice. She took responsibility for things she hasn’t been taking doing recently.”
Lauren DeGirolamo and Brittnee Cooper led the match with five blocks each, while DeGirolamo added nine kills and Cooper posted seven. Maggie Lonergan posted a double-double with 35 assists and led the match with 15 digs. Elena Martinez added 12 digs and moved into fourth place in single-season digs in LSU history. Marina Skender also posted double-figure digs with 11.
Although neither team hit efficiently, with LSU recording a .194 clip and Arkansas at only .023, hitting in negative number for the first two games. The Tigers did out kill the Lady’Backs, 45-34, with six or more kills from five players, while Arkansas had six or more kills from only two. LSU led the match with 10.0 blocks while Arkansas finished with 6.0 blocks. The Tigers also out dug the Lady’Backs with 59 digs to 50.
“I think this was a great match for us although statistically it doesn’t show that,” said Flory. “We did some really good things as a team so I’m really proud of what they did on the court tonight.”
LSU ran out to a 7-0 lead to start the match and led 9-1 through 10 points. The Tigers never really had a doubt in the first game, although, Arkansas cut it to three points, 21-18, the closest of the game. LSU then went on a 4-0 run and scored six of the next seven points to pull away, 27-19. A kill by Bensend gave the Tigers the first game, 30-22.
The Lady’Backs scored the first three points of the second game before LSU came back to tie it up at six. The Tigers went on to take the lead, 8-7, and led by as many as four, 17-13. Arkansas came back to tie it up at 20. After two more tied scores, LSU took the lead for good at 23-22 as part of a 5-1 run. The Tigers went into the locker room with the two-game lead, 30-24, on a kill by Washington.
It looked like smooth sailing for LSU in the third game as the Tigers pulled out to a 10-2 lead. LSU then stretched the lead to as many as 10, 16-6. The Lady’Backs began a rally that saw them inch away at the Tiger lead to get back to within two, 25-22. LSU would not let Arkansas get any closer, however, as the Tigers outscored the Lady’Backs 5-2 down the stretch before ending it on an ace by Michelle Hensgens, 30-25.
The “Dig for the Cure” campaign was originally started in 2003 by Charlotte head coach Lisa Marston, whose mother was a breast cancer survivor, and has spread to volleyball programs across the country in recent years. Last year, the campaign raised over $72,000 nationally.
LSU steps out of SEC play next week as the Tigers host Notre Dame on Tuesday at 7 p.m. LSU will then return to the road and resume league action at No. 10 Florida and South Carolina. The Tigers will face the nationally ranked Gators next Friday at 6 p.m. CDT as part of the SEC Regional Sports Network package in Baton Rouge on Fox Sports Southwest, cable channel 38. LSU will then travel to take on the Gamecocks on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. CDT.
No. 25 LSU def. Arkansas, 30-22, 30-24, 30-25
Arkansas (10-11, 4-7 SEC) (Kills-aces-blocks) ? Heather Royal 14-0-1; Jessica Dorrell 12-3-0; Kristin Seaton 3-0-2; Sarah Freudenrich 2-0-3; Christine Lawrence 2-0-3; Catherine Fowler 1-0-3; Totals 34-3-6.0. (Assists) – Lindsay Scanlan 19; Nicole Martine 11. (Dig leaders) – Ashley Miller 12; Heather Royal 10; Jessica Dorrell 8.
LSU (17-4, 9-3 SEC) (Kills-aces-blocks) ? Kyna Washington 11-1-2; Angela Bensend 11-0-3; Lauren DeGirolamo 9-0-5; Marina Skender 7-0-2; Brittnee Cooper 6-0-5; Elena Martinez 1-2-0; Michelle Hensgens 0-1-0; Maggie Lonergan 0-2-0; Totals 45-6-10.0. (Assists) – Maggie Lonergan 35. (Dig leaders) – Maggie Lonergan 15; Elena Martinez 12; Marina Skender 11; Kyna Washington 10.