BATON ROUGE – Desiree Elliott struck for 17 kills, her second highest output of the season, but No. 1 Florida garnered a 3-1 victory over the No. 16 LSU volleyball team [19-25, 31-33, 27-25, 13-25] Sunday in-front of a spirited 1,612 fans at the Maravich Center.
The crowd was the seven-largest in program history. Following the match, LSU (24-4, 15-4 SEC) honored Angela Bensend, Brittney Johnson and Tania Schatow with a special Senior Day presentation. The trio has racked up 92 career wins and on their way to qualifying for their sixth straight NCAA Tournament.
“Those three have ridden the wave of success they’ve created,” head coach Fran Flory said. “I couldn’t be more proud of a group. They’re four-time SEC West champions. They’ve been champions every single year they’ve been here. They’ve won an SEC Championship. They’ve meant more than that off the court with great leadership, great academic focus and just setting the tone for the program and for the team this year. They’re the reason why we are where we are today.”
Bensend finished with 12 kills and 15 digs to claim her eight double-double of the season, while Brittney Johnson handed out a match-best 48 assists to go along with nine digs. Tania Schatow totaled four kills and two blocks.
Elliott gashed the Gators and pummeled each one of her 17 kills on a .552 hitting percentage during the first three sets.
“Desi [Elliot] always has a special spark that seems to get us through,” Johnson said. “It was her spark that started us off because we started off in a rut. She’s really fun to play with, and is a great athlete.”
Michele Williams smacked 12 kills to give LSU three players with double figure spikes. The Tigers also received nine kills and three blocks from Madie Jones.
LSU’s back row grinded out 72 digs highlighted by Meghan Mannari, who equaled a career-best with 17 scoops. Sam Delahoussaye and Lauren Waclawczyk reeled in 11 and 10 digs, respectively. For Waclawczyk, she extended her double digit digs streak to 15 straight matches.
Florida (26-1, 19-0 SEC) raced out to early leads in sets one and four en route to 25-19 and 25-13 wins. The keys for the Gators were a .298 team hitting percentage, an 11-4 blocking edge and an 11-point advantage, 66 to 55 percent, in sideout efficiency.
Callie Rivers was one of four players to register 10 or more kills for Florida. She hammered home 17 of her career-high 21 spikes over the final three sets. Kristy Jaeckel popped 15 kills and secured eight digs.
UF’s setters, Kelly Murphy [31 assists] and Chanel Brown [22 assists and 12 digs], both registered double-doubles. In the process, Murphy ran her streak to 14 consecutive double-doubles and also tacked on eight kills.
The Gators also received solid all-around efforts from Cassandra Anderson and Lauren Bledsoe. The duo connected for 10 kills each, while Anderson totaled six blocks followed by Bledsoe’s five stuffs. On the back row, Erin Fleming sprawled out for a career-best 22 digs.
The second and third sets were epic frames that featured a combined 29 ties and 11 lead changes. Neither team could muster more than a four-point lead during that section of the match.
LSU rallied from a two-point hole late in the second set on two different occasions. Down 22-20, Williams slapped a kill and an ace to draw even at 22. Facing a pair of set points, the Tigers used back-to-back spikes from Scatow and Elliott to deadlock the frame at 24.
The two teams traded blows for the next 16 points. LSU faced set point on five more occasions and answered the bell each time. The Tigers also had a pair of set points of their own at 26-25 and 30-29 as both teams ran out of substitutions. Mannari played front row for the Tigers, while Tangerine Wiggs saw action on the back row for the Gators.
At 32-31 during a long rally, Murphy alertly put the ball on the floor on a second contact to vault Florida to the two-set lead and the 33-31 marathon triumph.
“There’s a reason they’re No. 1,” Flory said. “They showed it in the clutch moments of this match. We had every opportunity in the second set, and I think that was the determining factor of this match. We go back and make three service errors in clutch times. You can’t do that against the No. 1 team in the country. I thought we were serving aggressively. We were trying to go for it, and we weren’t going to hold back. I have a lot of respect for that. I just wish we would have gotten a few in there.”
The third set followed the same script after three straight Rivers kills turned into a 23-21 deficit into match point for the Gators. Bensend and Elliott fired back with consecutive kills to vault LSU back ahead 25-24.
After an Anderson sideout spike evened the tally for Florida, the Tigers weren’t to be denied as a Bensend kill coupled with a Mannari ace placed LSU’s into the winners circle with a gritty 27-25 victory.
“I think this could be a positive difference maker for us,” Flory said. “We came back after losing that close set in the second. We could have folded at that point, but we didn’t. We grew up a little bit and it’s interesting to still be growing up at this point in the season, but we are. We got a little better, and we gained a little more confidence. I think our team feels really confident that we stood toe-to-toe with them. I think they’re really disappointed that we didn’t show better effort in clutch situations.”
LSU wraps up the regular season with a Wednesday tilt at Arkansas. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. inside Barnhill Arena. Live stats are available on LSUsports.net inside the Geaux Zone. Fans also can follow live in-match updates on the team’s official blog at http://lsuvolleyball.posterous.com.
Volleyball Postmatch Quotes
No. 1 Florida vs. No. 16 LSU – November 21, 2010
HEAD COACH FRAN FLORY
On her team’s effort today…
“Well, there’s a reason they’re No. 1. They showed it in the clutch moments of this match. We had every opportunity in the second set, and I think that was the determining factor of this match. We go back, have a chance to win the set and make three service errors in clutch times. You can’t do that against the No. 1 team in the country. I thought we were serving aggressively. We were trying to go for it, and we weren’t going to hold back. I have a lot of respect for that. I just wish we would have gotten a few in there.”
On this being an emotional match…
“I actually think this could be a positive difference maker for us. We came back after losing that close set in the second. We could have folded at that point, but we didn’t. We grew up a little bit and it’s interesting to still be growing up at this point in the season, but we are. We got a little better, and we gained a little more confidence. I think our team feels really confident that we stood toe-to-toe with them. I think they’re really disappointed that we didn’t show better effort in clutch situations.”
On the three seniors…
“Those three have ridden the wave of success they’ve created. I couldn’t be more proud of a group. They’re four-time SEC West champions. They’ve been champions every single year they’ve been here. They’ve won an SEC Championship. They’ve meant more than that off the court with great leadership, great academic focus and just setting the tone for the program and for the team this year. They’re the reason why we are where we are today.”
On Desiree Elliot’s performance today…
“We knew she was going to be good. She actually turned out to be better than advertised. We were really concerned halfway through the season that she was going to run out of gas because we gave her so many opportunities. She continues to get better. She’s such a fighter and competitor that we were sitting on the bench, late in the third set, saying we have to find more ways to get Desi the ball. She served well, she defended well, she attacked well, she blocked well, she did it all tonight.”
On playing Arkansas on the road…
“That’s a dangerous match coming off playing the No. 1 team with the emotions and Senior Night, plus Thanksgiving right behind it. We’re going to have to do a great job preparing for that match and being mentally focused. We can’t let one slip at the end of the year.”
Setter Brittney Johnson
On the match…
“It’s really tough to come in and play a No. 1 team on such an emotional day because you’re worrying about Senior Day and about winning. I think we did a really good job of balancing. I think we did a good job of taking a step back and playing as hard as we could. We gave it our all.”
On the chemistry with Desi…
“Desi [Elliot] always has a special spark that seems to get us through. It was her spark that started us off because we started off in a rut. She’s really fun to play with, and she’s a great athlete.”
About being from Baton Rouge and playing in the PMAC…
“Growing up I always knew I was going to come here. To be able to play here for four years, injury-free, and to be able to play with such great teammates has been real. It’s really sad that it’s over, and I don’t want it to end. It’s not going to end, the season’s not over.”
On playing Arkansas on the road…
“We approach every game like it’s the same. We’re going to have to go in and take care of business, make sure we’re able to execute so we’re able to transition to the NCAA Tournament.”
Outside Hitter Angela Bensend
On what they can learn from this match…
“This was a great growing match for us. We learned a lot this game. As long as we keep playing our side and our pace, we don’t have to worry about other teams. I think it’s a great match before the NCAA Tournament to get us ready for that.”
On the environment in sets two and three…
“The fans were fantastic. It was great to have them all there. They supported us and helped us through and that’s what got us to where we were.”
On being a Tiger…
“It’s all about the atmosphere, the fans, the campus, everything. Everyone here just loves LSU and it’s such a great family to be under. I am going to miss it.”
On playing Arkansas on the road…
“Every team guns for us, so as long as we keep practicing hard and playing hard we’re going to come out with the victory.”