LEXINGTON, Ky. – Helen Boyle powered home 11 kills and added 14 digs for her sixth double-double of the season, but the LSU volleyball team dropped a 3-0 decision to Kentucky [15-25, 19-25, 21-25] Friday in-front of 1,378 fans at Memorial Coliseum.
The Tigers (18-10, 11-7 SEC) remained one-match ahead of Arkansas in the SEC Western Division race after the Razorbacks were swept at No. 14 Tennessee.
Boyle connected for a team-high .333 hitting percentage and notched double figure kills for the fifth time in the last six outings.
“Helen was exceptional and played extremely well,” head coach Fran Flory said. “We had some bright spots, and she was one of them. I thought she managed plays and didn’t try to be a superstar. She attacked the block, you can’t ask for much more than she gave us.”
Kentucky (25-4, 16-2 SEC) forced LSU into 27 hitting errors and limited the Tigers to a .084 clip for the match. Conversely, the Wildcats totaled a .276 ratio and recorded eight of the match’s 11 blocks. Christine Hartmann posted a solid all-around effort with 29 assists, three kills, two digs and two blocks.
Ashley Frazier ripped 10 kills on a scorching .500 hitting rate, while Whitney Billings chipped in nine kills and nine digs for the Wildcats.
“There’s no doubt that Frazier is an All-SEC outside hitter,” Flory said. “She takes some big swings for them when they need them most. Out of every timeout, Frazier is part of the solution that their staff comes up with. They’ve relied on her, and she did a great job against us.”
Michele Williams garnered a team-best 13 kills and moved past Meagan Davis (1998-2001) for sole possession of 16th place on the program’s all-time list. Desiree Elliott and Nicole Willis tallied negative hitting percentages.
Defensively, LSU picked up a 55-50 digs edge. Meghan Mannari sprawled out for a match-high 17 digs to reach double figure scoops for the 25th time this season.
Kentucky raced out to an early 10-2 edge in the opening set as five different players provided kills. The Tigers charged back behind five Williams spikes to get back to 16-14. After a timeout, the Wildcats ripped off nine of the final 10 points to claim the 25-15 triumph. Frazier and Billings ignited the spurt with back-to-back kills followed by a Hartmann ace and three straight LSU attack errors.
After splitting the first eight points of set two, the Wildcats seized momentum with 12 of the next 17 points to build a 16-9 advantage. Down 24-16, LSU fought off three set points as Elliott and Williams pieced together three consecutive spikes, but a Williams hitting error allowed Kentucky to record the 25-19 win.
LSU erased an early 10-4 deficit to start the third set and caught Kentucky at 15-15 after Williams teamed for a block with Marissa Maas. Frazier knocked a sideout spike to put the Wildcats back in front, while Ann Arms contributed two of her five blocks to fuel a 5-1 run to vault Kentucky ahead, 20-16. The Tigers fought back to 23-21 after a Billings hitting miscue, but a block on Elliott coupled with a Frazier spike lifted Kentucky to the sweep by a 25-21 margin.
“We just didn’t control the ball well enough to win,” Flory said. “Unfortunately for us, we didn’t have a few of our key players give us what they normally do from a stats standpoint. We also allowed Kentucky to go on some runs, and that’s a dangerous formula especially in their building.”
LSU plays its final road match of the regular season Sunday versus SEC leader and No. 14 Tennessee. First serve is slated for 1 p.m. CT, and the match will be televised by Cox Sports Television.
Live audio and live stats are offered inside the Geaux Zone at LSUsports.net, while in-match updates also are available via the program’s social media outlets at LSU Volleyball on Facebook or http://twitter.com/lsuvolleyball.