TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Marina Skender powered home 19 kills, while Angela Bensend cranked a season-best 12 kills as the LSU volleyball team knocked off Alabama [25-11, 21-25, 25-20, 25-22] Friday at the CAVE.
The victory allowed the Tigers (10-4, 4-1 SEC) to overtake Alabama (6-10, 4-2 SEC) for the SEC Western Division lead as LSU won its 22nd straight match over their fellow division foes.
“Our outside hitters did a tremendous job of putting away out of system balls,” head coach Fran Flory said. “Every match in the SEC is a battle and matches on the road determine championships. This was a very good win for us against a young and talented Alabama team.”
Sam Dabbs dished out a match-high 52 assists and fueled LSU to a trio of over 70 percent sideout efficiency frames. The Tigers have won all 18 sets when reaching that feat this season.
Skender’s 19 kills matched a season-high, while Bensend’s slapped a season-high .455 hitting percentage. Brittnee Cooper popped nine kills on a .471 hitting clip and added four blocks. Michele Williams tallied seven kills and five blocks.
“Marina was the key the match and had the big kills when we needed them the most,” Flory said. “She’s swinging to put the ball on the floor and is much more physical with her attack this season. I thought Alabama gave Angela her swings and Sam did a great job of recognizing that.”
Lauren Waclawczyk and Sam Delahoussaye anchored the back row with 13 and 10 digs, respectively. Lauren DeGirolamo also reeled in nine digs.
LSU surged out to a 15-4 opening set lead and never looked back in the 25-11 triumph. The Tigers connected for a .393 hitting percentage coupled with a season-best 91 percent sideout efficiency. Skender and Michele Williams combined for nine of LSU’s 15 kills in the frame.
Alabama regrouped and grabbed a 9-1 edge to start set two. The Tigers fought back to 22-20 as DeGirolamo and Cooper recorded a block. The Crimson Tide fired back with three of the last four points for the 25-21 win to even the match.
LSU led wire-to-wire in the third set as the Tigers ripped a .519 hitting percentage in the frame. At 14-12, LSU took control of the set with a 6-3 run to push the lead to 20-15. Alabama got back to 23-20, but back-to-back Skender and Bensend spikes gave the Tigers the 25-20 victory.
After seven ties and a pair of lead changes to open the fourth set, LSU turned a 16-14 hole into a 20-17 advantage. The Crimson Tide got as close as two points on five separate occasions before a Brooks Webster attack error secured the 25-22 win. Webster paced Alabama with 13 kills.
LSU wraps up its four-match road swing Sunday at Mississippi State. First serve is on-tap for 1:30 p.m. at the Newell-Grissom Building. Fans can receive in-match updates of the defending four-time SEC Western champions via www.twitter.com/lsuvolleyball. Live stats also are available at LSUsports.net
“What we did tonight was great but tomorrow is new day,” Skender said. “We need to focus on staying consistent throughout the entire match and can’t have second sets where we went up-and-down.”