BATON ROUGE – Malorie Pardo dished out 47 assists to spark the LSU volleyball team to its third consecutive victory and a crisp .468 team hitting percentage en route to a dominating sweep of Alabama [25-15, 25-17, 25-18] Friday at the Maravich Center.
In the process, LSU (14-6, 7-3 SEC) won its 11th straight match versus Alabama (10-12, 3-8 SEC) and opened up a two match lead over Arkansas at the halfway point of the SEC Western Division race.
“I am really excited at the level of intensity and the level of determination that we played with tonight,” head coach Fran Flory said. “Our back court has led us all season, but tonight they lead us in a different level. They made the front row respond to them. That is something that we have been trying to get them to do. The team played with great poise and great confidence. That is what happens when our offense flows.”
The 47 helpers for Pardo, the reigning SEC Freshman of the Week, matched a SEC-high for a three-set match on the season. The League City, Texas fueled LSU’s offense to 52 kills and both of her middle blockers to double figure spikes.
Desiree Elliott hammered home 15 kills on a scorching .591 hitting clip and added three blocks. It extended her run to three consecutive outings with over a .300 ratio.
Michele Williams slapped 10 kills on a .500 hitting percentage, her highest mark since the Wake Forest match back on Sept. 9.
“We decided to quit trying to find each other,” Flory said. “We went back to basics, set a quick ball and let the middles do what they do. Our middles are great at being athletic, being big and being dynamic. That strategy finally came into its own tonight. We have been talking about it, but we haven’t found it. Certainly, I thought in this match we found it.”
From the outside, Helen Boyle, Madie Jones and Nicole Willis combined to crank 26 kills on an efficient 52 swings. Willis also equaled a career-best with five digs and tacked on two blocks, while Boyle secured six digs and two blocks.
LSU’s back row was poised behind a 71 percent sideout effort and was perfect on all 48 of its receptions. Meghan Mannari sprawled out for a match-high 14 digs and has tallied 10 or more digs during nine of 10 SEC matches.
Sam Delahoussaye and Lauren Waclawczyk corralled seven digs each. For Waclawczyk, she has captured 1,173 career scoops and surpassed former All-SEC standout Detra Brown (1983-86) for sole possession of eighth place on the program’s all-time list. Delahoussaye also slapped a match-best three aces.
Alabama was paced by Kayla Fitterer, who returned to the lineup for the first time in two weeks. She connected for a match-high 17 kills on a .441 attack rate. The Crimson Tide received a match-best four blocks from Cortney Warren.
“We definitely worked hard in practice these past two weeks with staying discipline,” Pardo said. “We had very intense practices which are paying off right now. It definitely showed tonight with everything being on spot. The defense did really great job of passing. We have been working on defense a lot and that helped in the match tonight.”
LSU led wire-to-wire during the opening stanza and built a commanding 14-7 advantage behind a trio of kills from Elliott and Williams. The Tigers stretched their lead to as high as 11 at 23-12 on another Elliott quick kill. Williams delivered the final blow to secure the 25-15 triumph as LSU ripped 17 kills on a blistering .520 hitting percentage.
The Tigers saved their best effort for the middle frame and belted 18 kills on 30 swings with only one error to tally a .567 hitting clip. LSU raced out to 11 of the first 14 points of the set, but Alabama charged back aided by Fitterer’s five spikes to pull back to 16-12. The Tigers turned up the defensive energy and forced the Crimson Tide into two attack errors sandwiched between Williams and Boyle kills to regain a 20-12 edge. The two teams traded the final 10 points as LSU emerged with a 25-17 victory.
LSU and Alabama traded five ties and a lead change to start set three. Tied at 10-10, the Tigers pieced together an 8-3 spurt fueled by two Willis kills and an Elliott-Willis stuff to surge ahead 18-13. The Crimson Tide trimmed the deficit down to three points on two occasions, the latest at 19-16, but LSU notched six of the next eight points capped by Elliott and Willis kills to wrap up the sweep by a 25-18 margin.
“Malorie and I have been working hard after practice in the gym,” Willis said. “A lot of people have been going in for extra reps, and I think its chemistry that we are building together is wonderful. I also think the team chemistry also is coming together wonderfully.”
LSU finishes up its four-match homestand Sunday versus Ole Miss. First serve is on-tap for 1 p.m. at the Maravich Center. The match will be televised by CST with Lyn Rollins and Kent Lowe on the call.
Live stats are offered inside the Geaux Zone on LSUsports.net. In-match updates also are available via the program’s social media outlets at http://twitter.com/lsuvolleyball or LSU Volleyball on Facebook.
The Ole Miss contest is the second of two “Student Point Matches” and the first 500 students will receive LSU volleyball pint glasses.
For every home match, LSU volleyball will be collecting books as part of its season-long book drive, “Geaux Books”, to benefit the Everybody Reads Program through Volunteer in Public Schools. Fans are asked to bring new or used elementary level books to help local students.
Volleyball Postmatch Quotes
LSU vs. Alabama – October 21, 2011
Head Coach Fran Flory
On the level of play…
“I am really excited at the level of intensity and the level of determination that we played with tonight. Our back court has led us all season, but tonight they lead us in a different level. They made the front row respond to them. That is something that we have been trying to get them to do. The team played with great poise and great confidence. That is what happens when our offense flows.”
On getting into rhythm…
“Desiree was amazing, but Malorie did a good job of working into a rhythm. We have struggled for the last three or four weeks trying to get that rhythm, tempo and middle attack back. I thought Malorie did a great job all-around and during the latter part of the match she found Nicole and Madie as well. We may be on the cusp of getting back into an offensive flow and really running things.”
On the play of Malorie Pardo…
“I think she did a nice job. She played with a different level of poise today and I’m not sure why that occurred. However, I’m certainly glad to see it. I think our hitters responded for her. She created opportunities, but the bottom line is her assists turned into kills. She is doing a great job of creating, and our hitters are doing a great job of finishing.”
On the rhythm of the team…
“We decided to quit trying to find each other. We went back to basics, set a quick ball and let the middles do what they do. Our middles are great at being athletic, being big and being dynamic. That strategy finally came into its own tonight. We have been talking about it, but we haven’t found it. Certainly, I thought in this match we found it.”
On the play of Nicole Willis…
“Nicole has had two great efforts against Alabama. The fact of the matter is that what she does works well against them. I thought she played with great shot selection, a great level of control and didn’t try to do too much with the opportunity she had. Certainly, when she plays in that mindset it takes the pressure off of everybody else.”
On the upcoming game against Ole Miss…
“Ole Miss and LSU is always a tough, grind it out style of match. It doesn’t matter what the records are going in. Certainly, Ole Miss through the second half of SEC play is probably going to be a dangerous team in our league. I think they are going to turn the corner. They have a bunch of great athletes. When they get going, they are going to be really hard to defend and really hard to beat. We have to be prepared and our kids like playing that. LSU and Ole Miss is a fun rivalry, and Sunday will be another exciting chapter.”
Volleyball Postmatch Quotes
LSU vs. Alabama – October 21, 2011
LSU Right Side Hitter Nicole Willis
On the support of the team…
“Everyone on the team is always encouraging and uplifting. It’s always fantastic to play with great people who want you to succeed.”
On the difference in her offensive performance…
Malorie and I have been working hard after practice in the gym. A lot of people have been going in for extra reps, and I think its chemistry that we are building together is wonderful. I also think the team chemistry also is coming together wonderfully.”
On the Ole Miss match…
“We need to hydrate and recover tonight because Sunday we will have to come back strong and come ready to play.”
Setter Malorie Pardo
On the play of the team…
“We definitely worked hard in practice these past two weeks with staying discipline. We had very intense practices which are paying off right now. It definitely showed tonight with everything being on spot. The defense did really great job of passing. We have been working on defense a lot and that helped in the match tonight.”
On the connection with the middles…
“It was easy to find them because the defense put the ball perfectly where I needed it. It’s simple with them when they get up so high, there’s nothing else I could do, but deliver a perfect ball.”
On preparing for Ole Miss…
“We need to mentally prepare. We are physically ready, we just need to be mentally ready. It’s a matter of thinking about what we need to do and then execute it.”