BATON ROUGE – Desiree Elliott turned in an all-around career-best performance with 11 kills on a .600 hitting percentage to go along with eight blocks to lift the No. 12 LSU volleyball team to a 3-1 victory over Arkansas [25-17, 17-25, 25-13, 25-17] Wednesday in-front of a national television audience at the Maravich Center.
Angela Bensend ripped a match-high 15 kills to run her streak to 12 straight matches with double digit kills, while Madie Jones and Michele Williams posted nine spikes apiece. Jones, the reigning SEC Offense Player of the Week, attacked at .471 ratio on her 17 swings.
“Desi is going to out-quick people, you have to make a choice on her,” head coach Fran Flory said. “For her to have 11 kills on 15 swings is a really, really nice performance. I would loved to have passed a little better to be able to create for her a few more opportunities. Madie is just on a high right now. She’s doing a great job, taking great swings, smart shots and she’s finishing. If we can continue that rhythm with her, she’s going to put up some nice numbers the second half of the season.”
Brittney Johnson passed out 38 assists and tacked on five kills as LSU (17-1, 8-1 SEC) notched its 34th consecutive win over a SEC Western Division opponent dating back to the 2006 season. Tania Schatow tacked on four blocks and a pair of kills.
The Tigers limited Arkansas (9-11, 3-6 SEC) to a .122 hitting percentage. Meghan Mannari sprawled out for a career-high 14 digs, while Lauren Waclawczyk garnered 12 scoops. Sam Delahoussaye chipped in nine digs of her own. During LSU’s three set victories, the Tigers sided out at a 76 percent clip.
“We’re excited about the win. We’re not very excited about the level we played at tonight,” head coach Fran Flory said. “It was a very uncharacteristic night for us. We were very high error in many areas. We didn’t really attack the ball very well. It was kind of a disappointing showing but a win is a win. We’re certainly happy with that.”
After seven ties and two early lead changes, LSU kicked it into high gear. Ahead 12-11, the Tigers exploded for nine of the next 12 points to put the frame out of reach. Bensend highlighted the run with three kills. LSU connected for a .385 hitting percentage and closed out the 25-17 win as Delahoussaye’s dig found a spot on the floor on the Arkansas side of the net.
The Razorbacks regrouped in set two and surged out to a 16-11 edge taking advantage of five LSU hitting miscues along with four service errors. The Tigers charged back to 16-14 after Bensend and Williams powered home back-to-back kills. After an Arkansas timeout, the Razorbacks used a 9-3 finishing kick for the 25-17 victory to even the match at a set apiece.
LSU fired back with a 15-4 charge out of the locker room. At one point, the Tigers reeled off eight consecutive points on Williams serve and never looked back in the 25-13 triumph. Jones cracked five kills on her seven swings to fuel the offense, while LSU’s defense stifled Arkansas to seven kills on seven errors in 29 attempts.
“Madie [Jones] is really taking control right now,” Waclawczyk said. “When she wants to get something going, she’s going to get it done and she’s proven that. It’s so good to have that in a player, that fire and that desire. All her hard work is really starting to pay off, I’m so happy for her.”
LSU also led wire-to-wire in the fourth set. Elliott rolled to six spikes on seven swings during the frame as the Tigers secured 12 of the final 17 points for the 25-17 win. LSU also belted five of its 10 aces in the set as Delahoussaye, Waclawczyk and Williams recorded multiple aces for the match.
“I think when our passing is really good and when we pass threes and twos right on Brittney Johnson it’s really easy to get a good offense going,” Jones said. “I’m glad we’ve been working on that at practice because when it comes through in games it helps us win.”
LSU hits the road Friday to face Ole Miss to conclude a stretch of four matches in eight days. First serve is slated for 6:30 p.m. and will be televised on Fox Sports Network.
Live video and live stats are available in the Geaux Zone on LSUsports.net. Fans also can follow live in-match updates on the team’s official blog at http://lsuvolleyball.posterous.com.
Volleyball Quotes
No. 12 LSU vs. Arkansas – October 13, 2010
HEAD COACH FRAN FLORY
On improving to 17-1 on national television… “We’re excited about the win. We’re not very excited about the level we played at tonight. It was a very uncharacteristic night for us. We were very high error in many areas. We didn’t really attack the ball very well. It was kind of a disappointing showing but a win is a win. We’re certainly happy with that.”
On siding out over 70% during the three sets won…
“I think that was the biggest frustration. We were able to side out, but we could not create anything in transition with our offense. We just didn’t play defense very well. We didn’t fight very hard on defense. After the step forward that we took last weekend defensively, I think we took a huge step back today.”
On Angela Bensend‘s performance…
“Benny [Bensend] did a nice job. We created situations for her, and she really did come through for us. She was pretty frustrated. I think we were trying to be a little bit too good today rather than just playing and managing who we are. We’ll get back in the gym and get better.”
On Desiree Elliott and Madie Jones‘ performances…
“Desi [Elliot] is going to out-quick people. You have to make a choice on her. For her to have 11 kills on 15 swings is a really, really nice performance. I would loved to have passed a little better to be able to create for her a few more opportunities. Madie [Jones] is just on a high right now. Madie’s doing a great job, taking great swings, smart shots and she’s finishing. If we can continue that rhythm with her, she’s going to put up some nice numbers the second half of the season.”
On Elliott being involved in eight of 10 blocks…
“I thought Desi [Elliot] had an outstanding match. She didn’t really have the emotion. We didn’t play with great emotion today and that’s the disappointing part. The bottom line is it’s a win. I think everybody contributed in a way that they could say, “OK, this is how I helped this team win today.” That’s the goal, to find a way to help your team win when you don’t have your best. I though overall we did a nice job of that.”
On playing at Ole Miss Friday…
“Ole Miss is a tough, tough match on their home court. We’re going to have to be an awful lot better Friday night than we were today on our home court. That’s certainly a concern walking off the court, but this team has stepped up to challenges throughout the season. Hopefully, they will continue to do that. Tomorrow is a travel day and we’ll get back to business on Friday.”
OUTSIDE HITTER MADIE JONES
On playing on ESPNU and overcoming adversity…
“It was a lot of fun. There are all those external things that you try to not let bother you during the game and I think maybe that’s what happened the second game. We didn’t play like ourselves but it was a lot of fun being on ESPNU and it was a good atmosphere.”
On being able to win when not playing their best…
“I think basically we had to get through that second game and know that we can always turn it around. Even when you’re not playing like yourself, there’s always the third game and the fourth game to just bring it back and get back in your system. “
On siding out over 70% in the three sets won…
“I think when our passing is really good and when we pass threes and twos right on Brittney Johnson it’s really easy to get a good offense going. I’m glad we’ve been working on that at practice because when it comes through in games it helps us win.”
On Desiree Elliott‘s performance…
“Tonight we really needed one or two players to make a steady course for us, someone we could ride off of. I’m really glad that Desi [Elliott] could do that for us. I really think she stepped up when we needed her tonight.
On playing Ole Miss on Friday…
“I think we have to play better than we did tonight if we want to beat Ole Miss. We have two days to be ready for it. I think we’ll do the best we can, and I’m really excited about playing Ole Miss. Hopefully, we can pull out a win.”
LIBERO LAUREN WACLAWCZYK
On playing ESPNU…
“It’s always good to have so much support around us. Playing back at home after the two long weekends on the road, it’s fun to get back here. It’s fun to get national recognition for anything we do. It must mean we’re doing something right.”
On pulling out a win…
“It’s really good. It wasn’t our best night tonight, but we’re moving forward. We have a big match on Friday against Ole Miss. Our passing, when it was on, it was on. We had our ups and downs. We’re going to get in the gym tomorrow, fix our little quirks we have going on and be ready to go on Friday.”
On Madie Jones‘ hot streak…
“Madie [Jones] is really taking control right now. When she wants to get something going, she’s going to get it done and she’s proven that. It’s so good to have that in a player, that fire and that desire. All her hard work is really starting to pay off, I’m so happy for her.”
On playing Ole Miss Friday…
“Ole Miss is always a tough match, especially over there. They have a good crowd. We just have to get focused, it’s all about us. Every time we have that mentality that it’s all about us, it’s our pace, I really don’t think anybody can touch us. As long as we have that mindset, we’re good to go.”