KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – In the first of four consecutive matches on the road, the LSU volleyball team hit above .300 as a team for the second consecutive match and earned its second-straight sweep in defeating the Tennessee Lady Volunteers 25-19, 25-19, 25-16, Sunday afternoon at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville.
In another dominating and efficient performance, LSU (8-7, 3-3 SEC) pushed its winning streak to three matches and needed just 46 kills on 41 assists to cruise past Tennessee (7-13, 0-6), who was held to a .158 attack percentage with only 25 kills on the day, while unable to handle the serving game of the Tigers who finished with seven service aces.
“I was proud of how we played, and our players set some high standards for themselves but are really beginning to understand the process and understand if they focus on the games within the game, winning will take care of itself,” head coach Fran Flory said.
Briana Holman had one of her best offensive matches of the season, leading all players with 12 kills and hitting .667 on an errorless afternoon with a dig and a block. Mimi Eugene continued her hot streak finishing with 11 kills five digs and five aces, as she and Holman were the only two players with double figure kills in the match. Cati Leak chipped in eight kills, while Katie Lindelow had five and Emily Ehrle produced four.
“The best part about Bri was that the balls she might not have had a quality swing on, she still made smart choices to keep the ball in play and put pressure on the opponent,” Flory said. “That’s another example of how these kids are starting to understand the game, instead of being great athletes playing the game.”
Senior setter Malorie Pardo was also very efficient on the day, earning a kill on all six swings she took, while serving up 34 of the squad’s 41 assists with four digs and a block. Haley Smith led all players with 11 digs, earning double-digit scoops for the 15th time this season.
“I think in the last few weeks they’ve actually become a very good volleyball team,” Flory said. “Tennessee isn’t an easy place to play, and this is a good win for us because they have very good athletes and a very tough environment to try and win in.”
Jamie Lea led Tennessee with eight kills and hit .300 for the day, while Lexi Dempsey and Taylor Johnson each had 11 assists for the Lady Vols. Bridgette Villano led UT with nine digs.
The Tigers struggled early to get anything going offensively, but regrouped in a big way late to finish the opening outhitting the Lady Vols .250-.172, with the Tigers earning 16 kills to UT’s 10. Led by Holman’s five kills, the Tigers go production from the group getting four from Leak and three from Eugene in the opening frame.
Leading for much of the early portion of the first, LSU was able to find its rhythm collectively, but with a 12-9 advantage, Tennessee went on a four-point swing to go up 13-12 to take its first lead of the match. The Tigers would get the next point on a kill from Pardo, but UT came back and got the next two to go up 15-13. That would be the last lead for the Lady Vols from that point on as LSU scored seven-straight to go up 20-15 and force the home side into its final timeout of the first. The Tigers went on to take the set 25-19 to go up 1-0.
That offensive connectivity continued for the Tigers in the second as the squad was even better, finishing with the same amount of kills as they did in the first, this time hitting .314 as a group with five players earning two or more kills. Eugene sent home four, while Holman Pardo and Leak each had three for LSU, with Pardo also serving up 12 assists.
“Malorie understood she could be a factor offensively and seized the moment,” Flory said. “A very mature performance by her today.”
Although there were fewer ties and just one lead change, Tennessee came out playing much better early to give the Tigers a stiff test in the first few opening points. However, with the set tied at four, LSU rattled off four of the next five to go up 8-5, never relinquishing the lead from then on. The second was not without its fireworks, as LSU went up 20-15 and was awarded a point after UT was given a red card, eventually taking the set 25-19.
Things came in four’s for LSU in the third, getting four kills each from Eugene, Holman and Lindelow amid 14 kills for LSU as a group in a .345 hitting clip for the group in the set. Tennessee had only five kills and hit .105, never connecting on anything strong on the attacking end to keep with LSU during the final stanza of the match.
Another big run for the Tigers highlighted another strong performance for LSU during the match, as the team trailed only once, down 2-1, before going on another seven-point swing to go up 8-2 and steamroll the overmatched Lady Vols throughout the rest of the match. Included in that big run were three consecutive service aces by Eugene, of which she finished with four in the frame alone.
The Lady Vols finished pulled within three points of the Tigers at 14-11, but LSU and Eugene struck again getting a UT service error and a kill and ace by Eugene to make it 17-11 to force UT into another timeout, as LSU continued to roll and held Tennessee to just five more points for the rest of the match to close out the day 25-16 to claim the sweep.
“Mimi would probably tell you that she had an OK performance, but she played great,” Flory said. “She a slow start offensively, but she bounced back in a big way and it was the first time she’s done that this season so I was proud of her effort in doing so.”
LSU will be back in action on Friday, traveling to Columbia, Missouri, to take on the Missouri Tigers at 5 p.m.
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