BATON ROUGE — Brittnee Cooper smacked 20 kills on a .581 hitting percentage but it wasn’t enough as the LSU volleyball team lost a hard-fought 3-2 decision Friday against No. 6 Nebraska [25-22, 16-25, 25-21, 15-25, 8-15] in front of 1,012 fans at the Maravich Center to cap day one of the Tiger Classic.
LSU (2-2) has gone the distance in three of its four matches this season and its two setbacks are against 2008 Final Four participants. Nebraska (5-1) tallied 17.5 blocks and out-hit the Tigers, .265 to .150.
“I thought we would have had a better performance tonight, and I’m a little disappointed in how we handled the pressure situations,” head coach Fran Flory said. “Our offense wasn’t in a very good rhythm and never really got established. You have to credit Nebraska because their blocks were big. We’re going to have to change those things to become a good team.”
Sam Dabbs passed out 43 assists and added 11 digs, while Marina Skender chipped in nine kills and 12 digs to become the fifth player in program history to join the 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs club. Madie Jones tallied a career-best eight kills, while Lauren Waclawczyk compiled a career-high 17 digs.
The Tigers built 1-0 and 2-1 advantages, but Nebraska fought back on both occasions. The Cornhuskers saved their best effort for the deciding set and racked up 12 kills with no errors for an impressive .600 hitting percentage.
Cooper popped three quick kills to give LSU a 3-2 edge to start the fifth set before Nebraska reeled off eight of the next 11 points to take a 10-6 lead. During the run, Sydney Anderson set Brooke Delano, Lindsey Licht and Tara Mueller to a pair of kills apiece.
The Tigers pulled within 10-7 on a Jones kill, but the Cornhuskers finished the match on a 5-1 run for the 15-8 win. Anderson [51 assists, 14 digs], Mueller [22 kills, 15 digs] along with Hannah Werth [11 kills and 10 digs] compiled double-doubles for Nebraska.
“When the chips were down and our backs were against the wall last weekend, it was Stanford’s players that made the big plays. Tonight, Nebraska’s defense made great touches and kept them in system,” Flory said. “Their setter [Anderson] won them the match. She created offensively, managed their side of the net and made every touch better.”
Dabbs distributed 13 assists as the Tigers knocked a .323 hitting percentage en route to a 25-22 opening set win. Cooper and Skender teamed with Brittney Johnson for three kills each.
Down 15-14, LSU took control of the frame with an 8-3 spurt aided by three Cornhusker attack errors. Nebraska got back to 23-22 before a service error couple with a Lauren DeGirolamo ace gave the Tigers the 25-22 victory.
LSU used that momentum to fire out to a 6-0 set two advantage capped by a Jones kill. The Cornhuskers rallied to catch the Tigers moments later at 7-7 after a block on Johnson. At 16-14, Nebraska used a strong finishing kick to even the match with a 25-16 win.
After 15 ties and seven lead changes, LSU turned the tables on the Cornhuskers in the third set. Tied at 20-20, the Tigers received a kill and an ace from Dabbs along with a Skender spike to go up 23-20. LSU earned a 25-21 triumph after a Jones kill and an Anderson setting error.
Nebraska relied on its defense and held LSU to a match-low six kills on a .036 hitting percentage in set four. The Cornhuskers grabbed a 16-9 lead and never looked back to claim a 25-15 win. Werth and Mueller combined for nine kills in the frame.
LSU wraps up the Tiger Classic Saturday facing off against Louisiana-Lafayette and Tulane. First serve is slated for 10 a.m. and 8 p.m., respectively.
“We expended a lot of energy and are going to have to manage our lineup tomorrow,” Flory said. “Some different people are going to have to play in different spots. We’re a senior laden team and should be able to bring this team back on the winning track tomorrow.”
LSU vs. Nebraska Post Game Interview
9/4/2009
LSU HEAD COACH FRAN FLORY
Opening Statement of her thoughts on the game ….
“I thought that we actually would have a little better performance today. I am actually a little disappointed in how we handled pressure situations today. I thought our offense was not in very good rhythm and I thought it never really got established. I think you have to credit Nebraska that their blocks were big, and we didn’t do a very good job of managing that. We played very poor on the defensive side. We didn’t dig a lot of balls and we seemed surprised when we did get a good dig. We are going to have to change those things to become a good team.”
On Brittney Cooper’s performance …
“We feel like Cooper can take over matches. In the final set we were just hoping we could get her to the front line and we were just going to set her every ball and see what happened. We knew that she could get on top of them because she proved that all throughout the match. We didn’t get the first contact to be able to do that and then we made too many errors that we end our rallies. It was lost opportunity for us.”
On Marina Skender becoming fifth player to get 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs …
“Marina is a great balanced player. She makes every play, she is kind of like the mother hen. She is the one that organizes us on the court. She is also the one that makes the control contact for us that allows us to get back into rhythm. She did that a big tonight but she didn’t manage that as well as we needed her too. She got a little out of sync herself and that was a little unusual. I think we tried a little too hard tonight. I think we pushed a little much, and instead of playing and being who we are, we just played to try to beat Nebraska. You are not going to beat teams when you try and beat them. You are going to win by trying to execute on each point and not worrying about the scoreboard.”
On playing ULL tomorrow. …
“They are a much improved team. Watching them today in two matches they are doing some great things. We are going to have to really recover tonight and put together a nice game plan against them. I think we are going to be tired. I think we expended a lot of energy, so we are going to have to manage our lineup. Some different people are going to have to play in some different spots. I’m a little concerned about how we bounce back. We are a senior laden team, and if senior leadership is important, which I think it is, they should be able to bring this team back and get a win tomorrow.”
On having leads two weekends in a row against top 10 teams …
“I think we gained confidence last weekend, and I think this weekend was a letdown. But you have to credit the team on the other side of the net. When the chips were down and our backs were against the wall, Stanford’s big players made big plays. I think tonight Nebraska’s defense made great touches and kept them in great system. Their setter I think won the match. She managed their side of the net, she created offensively and made every touch better. She created better opportunities for their hitters. I don’t think we did that, and I wish we could have don’t that. It is too bad for Sam Dabbs because I think she could have probably managed that.”