KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The LSU volleyball team could never find its rhythm on Sunday as the Tigers fell in three sets to Tennessee, 25-22, 25-11, 25-23, in Thompson-Boling Arena.
Despite the loss LSU (12-9, 7-7 SEC) maintained its half-match lead over Ole Miss as the Rebels fell to South Carolina on Sunday, while the Lady Volunteers improved to 17-8 overall and 10-4 in league play.
“We couldn’t get on track offensively,” LSU head coach Fran Flory said. “Tennessee played very well and aggressively. They really got after us, and unfortunately we didn’t answer the call very well.”
Tennessee pulled out a tight first set, 25-22, before running away with the second set, 25-11. The Lady Vols fought off LSU’s rally in the third set and took the match with a 25-23 victory.
LSU was led offensively by Brittnee Cooper who finished with 10 kills and a .421 hitting percentage. Defensively, Elena Martinez recorded 20 digs which marked the sixth-straight contest Martinez has finished with 20 or more digs. In addition, Martinez moved into fifth place in LSU’s all-time career digs list with her performances against Tennessee. Martinez has accumulated 1,263 digs in her career, two more than Wendy Stammer had from 1983-86.
Against the Tigers, Tennessee was led offensively by Nikki Fowler who pounded out a match-high 15 kills on a .382 hitting percentage. Farren Powe paced the Lady Vol defense as she blocked six LSU attacks to go along with eight kills on offense.
LSU will be back in action on Friday as the Tigers host Alabama at 7 p.m. inside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.