COLUMBIA, S.C. — In their eighth five-game match of the season, the LSU volleyball team could not come up with the big plays in the end as the Tigers fell to South Carolina, 27-30, 30-26, 30-24, 27-30, 15-10, on Sunday afternoon at the Volleyball Competition Facility.
With the loss, LSU fell to 18-6 on the season and 9-5 in Southeastern Conference play. The loss drops the Tigers to two games behind Alabama in the SEC Western Division. The win moved the Gamecocks to 11-12 on the season and 4-10 in conference play, with their first five-game win of the season.
The road has proven to be tough on LSU in the league. The Tigers have now lost three five-game matches on the road in conference play. Next weekend, LSU will host the other two teams it lost to on the road in five games next weekend when it hosts Kentucky and Tennessee.
Kyna Washington led the match with 19 kills, while adding 20 digs and three service aces. Marina Skender posted 15 kills with a team-best 22 digs and four blocks. Despite not playing much in games one, two and three, Lauren DeGirolamo led the Tigers with five blocks.
Once again, service errors doomed the LSU effort. The Tigers tallied 17 service errors in the match, compared to only six for South Carolina. LSU did record seven aces, while the Gamecocks recorded three, but the seven-point swing provided to South Carolina in the service game made a big difference.
Despite out killing the Gamecocks, 70-67, LSU hit only .153 for the match with 37 hitting errors as South Carolina hit .189 in the match. Two key blocks in the fifth game gave the Gamecocks the edge in the match with 13.0 blocks to 11.0, while South Carolina out dug the Tigers, 96 to 86.
After scoring the first three points of the contest, LSU had three service errors that allowed South Carolina to stay in the game. The Gamecocks came back to tie it up at nine before a four-point run by the Tigers gave LSU the 13-9 lead. South Carolina then scored 11 of the next 13 to take the 20-15 lead. The Tigers came back to eventually tie it up at 23 and took the lead for good, 24-23. LSU went on to take the game, 30-27.
The Gamecocks came out and took a 6-0 lead to start the second game and led 7-1 early on. With South Carolina leading 17-10, the Tigers scored seven of the next 10 points to get within three, 20-17. The Gamecocks then stretched their lead to seven once again and sent it to game point, 29-22. LSU scored four straight to but the lead to three, but after the final South Carolina timeout, the Gamecocks finally converted and tied the match at a game each, 30-26.
The Tigers fell behind big early in game three, 5-1. South Carolina led by five for most of the early going before LSU came back to cut it to two, 13-11. The Gamecocks then scored three straight and seven of the next nine to stretch the lead to its largest, 20-13. The Tigers rallied once again and got to within two, 24-22, but could not get over the hump. South Carolina went on to take game three, 30-24.
The pair traded points to start the fourth game until LSU used a three-point run to take a 10-7 lead. The Tigers led by five, 16-11, but the Gamecocks came back to tie it up at 17 and took the lead, 18-17. After trading points once again, LSU took the lead for good, 20-19 as part of a four-point run that saw it stretch the lead to 23-20. With the Tigers leading, 27-22, South Carolina mounted a comeback and cut the lead to one, 28-27. LSU then scored the final two points of the game on back-to-back kills by DeGirolamo and Johnson to send it to five, 30-27.
In the fifth game, the teams traded points once again in the early going. With the scored tied at eight, the Gamecocks went on a six-point run that basically put the match away. LSU kept the match alive with two points, but a kill by South Carolina ended the match, 15-10.
LSU returns home next weekend as the Tigers try to avenge two of their three conference losses. Having lost to both Kentucky and Tennessee in five games on the road, LSU will try to get those matches back as the Tigers face the Wildcats on Friday at 7 p.m. and the Lady Vols on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. The match against Kentucky is the second Student-Point Match of the season as students push for their final chances to earn points for priority football tickets.
South Carolina def. LSU, 27-30, 30-26, 30-24, 27-30, 15-10
LSU (18-6, 9-5 SEC) (Kills-aces-blocks) – Kyna Washington 19-3-1; Marina Skender 15-0-4; Angela Bensend 9-0-2; Brittnee Cooper 8-0-2; Brittney Johnson 7-0-3; Lauren DeGirolamo 7-0-5; Tania Schatow 5-0-4; Michelle Hensgens 0-2-0; Elena Martinez 0-2-0; Totals 70-7-11.0. (Assists) – Brittney Johnson 53. (Dig leaders) – Marina Skender 22; Kyna Washington 20; Elena Martinez 17; Michelle Hensgens 15; Brittney Johnson 10
South Carolina (11-12, 4-10 SEC) (Kills-aces-blocks) – Ivana Kujundzic 17-0-2; Belita Salters 15-0-8; Meredith Moorhead 11-0-1; Megan Laughlin 10-1-5; Dani Bedore 8-2-2; Hannah Lawing 6-0-3; Totals 67-3-13.0. (Assists) – Jordan Bradosky 30; Petra Lorenzi 26. (Dig leaders) – Hannah Lawing 25; Sarah Cline 18; Petra Lorenzi 14; Jordan Bradosky 11; Ivana Kujundzic 10