SOUTH BEND, Ind. ? The LSU volleyball team outlasted Denver 3-2 [25-21, 28-30, 25-22, 24-26, 15-10] Saturday at the Shamrock Invitational inside the Joyce Center on the Notre Dame campus.
The Tigers (1-1) saved its best effort for the deciding set connecting for a .304 hitting percentage and posting an impressive 81 percent sideout efficiency after losing control a 22-12 lead in set four.
“We couldn’t find a rhythm until the fifth set,” head coach Fran Flory said. “Our team showed maturity because we should have closed the match out. Denver mixed some things up and played extremely hard. I’m proud of our team for coming through and getting back to who we are when it counted most.”
A pair of Lauren DeGirolamo kills along with spikes from Brittnee Cooper and Marina Skender set the tone as LSU grabbed a quick 8-4 edge.
The Tigers surged ahead 12-6 after back-to-back Brittney Johnson and Michele Williams blocks. Denver (0-2) got within four points twice before a Cooper kill closed out the 15-10 win.
LSU was playing its second consecutive match without starting setter Sam Dabbs. Johnson provided an all-around effort, finishing one kill and one dig shy of her first career double-double. The Baton Rouge native distributed 36 assists and knocked nine kills on a .421 hitting percentage. She also tallied nine digs and five blocks.
Cooper and Skender contributed double-doubles. Cooper recorded 12 kills and 12 blocks for her sixth career-double, while Skender popped 10 kills and reeled in 22 digs. Skender enters Sunday’s match against Notre Dame five digs away from becoming the fourth player in program history to join the 1,000 kills-1,000 digs club.
Williams smacked 12 kills and racked up a career-best nine blocks to fall just short of her first career double-double. Lauren Waclawczyk corralled a career-high 16 digs.
“Michele continues to make plays and grind out points when we need them the most,” Flory said. “She probably has the best work ethic on the team and has had an outstanding tournament so far.”
LSU built four-point leads on four separate occasions during the opening frame before a 6-2 Denver spurt evened the tally at 16-16.
After four ties and a pair of lead changes, the Tigers turned to their defense to score five of the final six points. LSU forced a trio of Pioneer hitting errors and Cooper teamed with Angela Bensend for a critical block as the Tigers took a 25-21 victory.
Down 21-16 in the second set, LSU charged back with an 8-3 run. The Tigers saved three set points on Williams’ serve and pulled even at 24-24 on a Williams back row kill. At 28-28, Denver regrouped to pick up an ace and a block for the 30-28 win.
LSU used another late game surge in the third set and weren’t to be denied. Cooper cranked three kills and added a block, while Williams sprinkled in an ace and a block of her own to turn a 19-18 deficit into a 25-22 triumph to give the Tigers a 2-1 edge.
That momentum carried over into set four as LSU constructed a 22-12 lead after forcing Denver into 10 attack errors. The Pioneers charged back to take the set 26-24 behind Jordan Raines and Emmy Davidsmeyer, who finished with 19 and 18 kills, respectively
LSU wraps up the Shamrock Invitational Sunday against host Notre Dame. First serve is on-tap for noon CT. Live stats will be available on LSUsports.net. Fans also can follow in-game updates of Tiger volleyball on Twitter at www.twitter.com/lsuvolleyball
“Notre Dame has a great environment and is a tough place to play,” Flory said. “They are in midseason form when the rest of us are trying to find our form. It’s going to be a challenge, and we’re going to have to be a lot better in our system to beat them tomorrow.”