HOUSTON — The No. 17 LSU volleyball team dropped a 3-0 decision to Rice [30-32, 20-25, 20-25] in the regular season finale for both teams Friday at Tudor Fieldhouse.
LSU (24-6) had its nine-match winning streak come to a close as the Owls (23-8) cranked a .338 hitting percentage. The .338 clip is the highest surrendered by the Tigers this season.
Meredith Schamun distributed 51 assists and four Rice players knocked double-digit kills highlighted by Natalie Bogan’s 14 spikes. Ashleigh McCord chipped in 13 kills, while Nancy Cole and Jesse Boulavsky added 10 kills apiece. Tracey Lam recorded a match-high 21 digs for the Owls.
“We did a really poor job of playing defense,” head coach Fran Flory said. “Their system ran quick and we didn’t respond. You have to credit Rice because they attacked us and kept attacking us. We didn’t step up to the plate and challenge them.”
Sam Dabbs passed out 42 assists as Marina Skender paced LSU with 13 kills and 10 digs for her 14th double-double of the season. Brittnee Cooper slapped 11 kills to go along with four blocks, while Michele Williams and Angela Bensend popped nine kills apiece. Lauren Waclawczyk anchored the Tiger back row with 20 digs.
The opening set featured 20 ties and seven lead changes. LSU surged out to a 19-14 lead after Cooper tallied a pair of blocks and a kill. The Owls responded with a 5-1 spurt aided by a trio of McCord spikes to draw even at 20-20. The Tigers fought off five set points before Rice received a Cole kill coupled with a Williams attack error for the 32-30 win.
Rice used that momentum to build an 11-6 advantage to start set two. The Tigers charged back with seven of the next nine points as Skender connected for three kills to even the score at 13-13. Rice took control of the frame ahead 18-17 with a 5-1 run to go up 23-18. LSU fought back to 23-20 but the Owls answered with back-to-back kills to earn the 25-20 victory.
With LSU up 14-12 in set three, Boulavsky belted four kills to fuel a 7-1 run to give Rice a 19-15 edge. The Tigers got back to 19-17 before the Owls ran off seven of the final 10 points to secure the 25-20 win.
“Our blocking was terrible and probably our worst of the season in terms of channeling balls,” Flory said. “We thought we prepared our players well. Rice didn’t do anything we didn’t expect. We just couldn’t get into a rhythm.”
LSU has already punched its ticket to the NCAA Tournament as the SEC regular season champion. The NCAA Selection Show is slated for Sunday at 2 p.m. on ESPNews.
“The bottom line is we have to get back into the gym and get better,” Flory said. “If you can’t use this type of performance as a building point then we’re not doing a good job of coaching. This type of match could be a good thing for us in the long run. You never want to lose but we have to understand that everyone is playing for their lives right now. Our offense has got to come around.”