COLUMBIA, S.C. – Desiree Elliott, Madie Jones and Michele Williams combined to blast 50 of LSU’s 62 kills for the match and lifted the Tiger volleyball team to a 3-1 victory [25-21, 23-25, 25-18, 25-18] over South Carolina Friday at USC’s Volleyball Competition Facility.
LSU (11-5, 4-2 SEC) put a two-match losing streak in the rearview mirror and won its sixth consecutive meeting versus the Gamecocks (9-7, 0-6 SEC).
“Desiree, Madie and Michele did an excellent job of carrying us at different points during the match,” head coach Fran Flory said. “Don’t take anything away from the way South Carolina defended us. They were tremendous and forced us to take more swings that we anticipated. Ultimately, our big three stayed the course, chose the right shots and terminated the ball at crucial times.”
Williams pounded home 11 of her season-best 18 kills during sets one and four, while Elliott equaled a season-high with 17 kills on a .343 hitting percentage and matched a career-best with five digs. Jones tacked on 15 kills and added two blocks.
Helen Boyle chipped in seven kills and sprawled out for 15 digs to nearly pick up her fourth double-double. Making only her second career start, Marissa Maas garnered a career-best four blocks and popped four kills.
Malorie Pardo handed out a match-high 50 assists to go along with 12 digs to claim her sixth double-double of the season.
LSU’s back row aided the Tigers to a 65 percent sideout efficiency and grinded its way to an 84-72 edge in the digs department. Meghan Mannari and Lauren Waclawczyk corralled a team-high 19 digs. For Waclawczyk, the 19 scoops were a season-high.
“Our back row did a phenomenal job especially Lauren,” Flory said. “She was the stabilizing force for us tonight and got us into the rhythm and tempo that we needed to have. Meghan had a little bit of a slow start, but credit to her for bouncing back to settle in during sets three and four.”
South Carolina was paced by Cara Howley and Teresa Stenlund, who knocked 12 and 10 kills, respectively. Paige Wheeler reeled in a match-best 25 digs for the Gamecocks.
“Individually and together as a team, we don’t like losing,” Williams said. “It was important for us to get back out there and get a road win after what happened last weekend. We worked really hard at coming together this week in practice and came out with the victory.”
The opening set featured a match-high 10 ties and four lead changes. Ahead 17-16, LSU seized control of the frame and connected three straight points. Boyle belted a kill and Mannari slapped an ace sandwiched between a USC attack error to make it 20-16. The Gamecocks trimmed the deficit in half on three occasions, the latest at 22-20, but Williams had the final answer to vault LSU to a 25-21 triumph. The Tigers connected for a match-best .342 hitting clip and converted on 18-of-22 sideout attempts.
“We’ve challenged Malorie to be a great defender in addition to being a great setter all season,” Flory said. “She did an excellent job of being patient and made some nice plays when we had to have them. It was a nice effort by her to put her hitters in some fantastic offensive situations.”
South Carolina regrouped behind six of the first seven points of set two. The Gamecocks also made the most of 11 LSU hitting miscues. Deadlocked at 19 apiece, USC ran off the next four points capped by a Stenlund kill to build a 23-19 advantage. The Tigers charged back to 24-23 on a Williams spike, but Stenlund delivered a sideout kill to even the match at one set each.
Out of the locker room, LSU broke open an 11-10 lead in the third set and used a strong finishing kick with 14 of the final 22 points to win going away, 25-18. Pardo set a balanced attack as Boyle, Elliott, Jones and Williams each provided two kills during the spurt.
The Tigers continued their strong play and raced out 13-5 advantage in set four after consecutive spikes from Elliott and Williams. South Carolina fired back with a spirited charge and got back to within 18-16. LSU forced the Gamecocks into three hitting errors coupled with two Elliott and Williams spikes to come away with a 25-18 triumph.
“The coaches told me before the match that if you swing hard, good things will happen for you,” Williams said. “I took that message to heart. It also helped to have my teammates behind me and supporting me. Trusting my teammates and my coaches was what worked for me tonight.”
LSU continues its run of five straight matches versus the SEC Eastern Division Sunday at No. 13 Florida. First serve is set for 12:30 p.m. CDT, and the contest will be televised by SUN Sports Florida.
Live audio and live stats are available for free at LSUsports.net inside the Geaux Zone. Fans also can follow in-match updates via the program’s social media outlets at http://twitter.com/lsuvolleyball or LSU Volleyball on Facebook.