SAN ANTONIO, Texas. – With a rematch on tap for the team’s finale Saturday, the LSU volleyball team needed to find an extra gear and did so by going the distance and defeating the Baylor Bears 3-2 (15-25, 25-22, 22-25, 25-23, 15-11) to earn a clean sweep of tournament action at the UTSA Classic on Saturday afternoon at the Convocation Center.
After looking listless in the first set, the Tigers (5-4) came on late and showed its depth and strength in the later part of the match to overcome a completely re-tooled Baylor (9-4) attack to pull out the win in thrilling fashion.
“Baylor did a great job of adjusting their game plan and forcing us out of what we feel like we needed to rely on, but for the third time this weekend this group maintained its poise and composure and rallied,” head coach Fran Flory said. “Baylor made us better today.”
The Tigers were led on the day by freshman Mimi Eugene, who had 13 kills and hit .250 with six digs, two aces and two blocks. Eugene was one of three in double-figure kills for LSU as she was followed by Cati Leak and Katie Lindelow who each produced 11, as Lindelow also netted a double-double to go along with her 10 digs.
“Mimi has completely changed this weekend, and taken another very positive step up not only offensively, but in serving, passing and defense,” Flory said. “She did a great all-around performance in all matches she played in.”
Briana Holman had five kills, but did the bulk of her damage at the net as she accounted for a season high 11 blocks, eight assisted and three solo. Malorie Pardo earned a double-double with her 39 assists and 17 digs, while Haley Smith led the group with 20 digs.
Finishing the first set with a hitting percentage of .000, the Tigers were able to go up as the Bears were finding it hard to maintain their first-set intensity after a .312 average. LSU went on to hit .135, .200, .275 and .357, while Baylor fell to .220, .211, .182 and .048 averages.
Hoping to start the match on a solid note, the Tigers found that the Bears were better composed than they were the previous day, getting LSU to hit into eight blocks and finishing with nine kills and nine errors, while only getting nine assists. Baylor hit .312 and had only three errors to their 13 kills in taking the opening set.
LSU was unable to get any momentum from the start, falling behind 5-1, eventually watching as the Bears extended their lead to as many as 11-4 after the first 15 points had been earned. The Tigers were able to get some life thanks Holman and Gina Tillis who provided three kills each in the set, with Leak earning four digs, but would not be able to get any closer than seven points as Baylor took the set 25-15.
Although LSU was able to get a bit more offensive production, the Bears were still hitting at a pretty solid clip and making the Tigers work for every point throughout the set. LSU’s five kills from Eugene and four from Lindelow helped in the Tiger cause, as LSU hit .135 as a whole to Baylor’s .220.
“Katie is becoming one of our better leaders and the player that maybe has the most heart on this team,” Flory said. “She’s the one that comes up with the biggest plays. She’s balanced and is going to be significant on this team.”
LSU kept things close for much of the early portion of the second, but after pulling within one at 8-7, the Bears outscored the Tigers 5-2 to force an LSU timeout. Down by three points at 18-15, the Tigers finally got some things to go their way, paced by Lindelow who had a kill and an ace amid an unforced Baylor error to tie the set at 18-18.
From that point, it was only a matter of time before LSU was able to overtake the Bears, and that came in a four-point swing down 20-19 to go up 23-20 and hold on for good to tie the match with a 25-22 result.
For the first time all match, LSU was finally able to outhit the Bears in a set, edging Baylor .200-.189 in the third, but the numbers for the opposition were better in getting 16 kills to LSU’s 11. LSU had more blocks in this set getting five, but that would be about as much as Baylor would allow in taking the set eventually.
There were eight ties and four lead changes throughout the third frame of the match, all coming within the first 18 points. LSU tied the set at 8-8 after a Holman kill, and did so again after a Madi Mahaffey kill to make it 9-9. That was the last draw in the entire set as Baylor took a 14-11 lead and force an LSU timeout.
In a preemptive strike, Baylor would call a timeout leading 19-16, after the two teams split the next 10 points to try and snuff an LSU comeback attempt. It worked for the time being, with Baylor getting the next three points to go up 22-16, but came back to call another at 24-21 with LSU trying to start another rally. The Tigers got another point out of that Bear timeout, but closed the set on the next play to take it 25-22.
The theme was starting to show as the Tigers were proving to get stronger as the match wore on while Baylor was starting to show signs of fatigue. LSU hit .275 in the fourth, getting five kills from Eugene and four from Leak while earning three team blocks to Baylor’s .182 average and 15 kills.
With 14 ties in the set, LSU and Baylor scrapped for every inch during the tense fourth, with the apex of the match coming in the final stages of the frame. With a 20-all score, the two teams traded each of the next two points to make it 22-22. A kill by Eugene made it 23-22 as Baylor called a timeout, but the break didn’t help as a Leak kill made it 24-22, closing out the set two points later to make it 25-23.
After allowing the first point, the Tigers regrouped to take the next four to force a Baylor timeout leading 4-1. With the lead in hand, LSU continued to bolster away and continued to own the fifth, going up 9-4 to make the Bears concede their final timeout. Although they were able to pull close and make it tense late, the Tigers had four opportunities at match point and connected on the fifth try with a Lindelow kill to end it 15-11.
“I think we are where we need to be going into next week, although I would have liked to stabilize the lineup a little more, but I think we know roles and are prepared,” Flory said. “We know that Kentucky is a great team with a lot of weapons, and we’re going to have to play very well to have a chance in that match.”
LSU returns to action on Wednesday, opening the home portion of the schedule and SEC play at 8 p.m. against the Kentucky Wildcats. The game will be televised live on ESPNU.
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