STARKVILLE, Miss. — Sam Dabbs set a balanced attack as seven players recorded four or more kills en route to a season-best .391 team hitting percentage as the LSU volleyball team swept Mississippi State [25-14, 25-14, 25-13] Sunday inside the Newell-Grissom Building.
LSU (11-4, 5-1 SEC) won its 23rd consecutive match against SEC Western Division foes and won all three sets by over 10 points for the first time in a sweep since defeating Wake Forest [30-19, 30-18, 30-17] during the 2006 season.
The Tigers also have won six straight SEC road matches dating back to last season. It’s the first time since the 1992 and 1993 seasons since LSU has reached that feat.
“This was the first SEC weekend where I felt we were just as balanced and efficient on Sunday as we were on Friday,” head coach Fran Flory said. “That was the goal for the trip and Sam did a great job of pointing our team to this match in the locker room. Lauren [Waclawczyk] also did a fantastic job in the back court of managing balls which allowed our offense to maintain its tempo and stay in rhythm.”
Dabbs distributed a match-best 28 assists as the Tigers connected for over a .340 team hitting clip for the third time in the last four matches. She also tacked on five kills and five digs. LSU also posted a trio of over 70 percent sideout efficiency frames for the second consecutive match. The Tigers have won all 21 sets when reaching that feat this season.
Marina Skender knocked a match-best 13 kills and added seven digs. She pushed her streak to 10 consecutive matches with double-figure kills.
Brittnee Cooper slapped nine kills on a scorching .615 hitting percentage and recorded five blocks, while Michele Williams turned in a complete performance with six kills, five aces, four blocks and three digs.
Brittney Johnson and Angela Bensend cranked four kills apiece on 16 swings without an attack error. LSU committed only six attack errors for the match.
“Sam made excellent choices and our hitters hit excellent shots,” head coach Fran Flory said. “It was a balanced effort, and we kept the pressure on them from every angle.”
LSU’s defense also was solid and forced Mississippi State (4-13, 0-6 SEC) into 21 attack errors to limit the Bulldogs to a .000 hitting percentage. Lauren DeGirolamo posted 10 digs and three blocks, while Lauren Waclawczyk reeled in eight digs. Sam Delahoussaye also chipped in eight digs and an ace.
LSU surged ahead 16-7 in the opening set behind four blocks, three of them involving Cooper and DeGirolamo. The Bulldogs got back to 18-12 before the Tigers responded with 7-2 spurt behind a trio of Skender kills for the 25-14 win.
MSU grabbed an early 9-6 edge to start set two. Back-to-back Williams and Dabbs spikes pulled the Tigers within 9-8. Williams fired off three straight aces to turn the tables and give LSU an 11-9 advantage. At 13-11, the Tigers put the frame away with a 13-3 run highlighted by seven consecutive points on Delahoussaye’s serve. Cooper powered home five kills in the 25-14 victory.
The two teams split the first 22 points of the third set before the Tigers once again used a strong finishing kick to score 14 of the final 16 points of the frame. Skender and Williams fueled the run with eight kills as LSU belted a season-best .621 hitting percentage.
“We did an excellent job of exploiting serving zones,” Flory said. “Jill Wilson, our assistant coach, had a great game plan. That’s something that had to improve if we want to take the next step as a team and play at the highest levels. It’s been a focus that we’ve worked really hard at.”
LSU returns home Friday to take on South Carolina. First serve is set for 7 p.m. as live video and live stats are available in the Geaux Zone on LSUsports.net. Fans also can follow in-match updates of the defending four-time SEC Western champions via www.twitter.com/lsuvolleyball.