COLUMBIA, Mo. – In a matchup featuring two teams right next to each other in the league standings, the LSU volleyball team extended its winning streak to four matches by earning its third-straight sweep with a 25-19, 25-20, 25-19 win over the Missouri Tigers Friday night, ending Missouri’s 12-match SEC home winning streak in the process.
LSU (10-8, 4-3 SEC) hit .317 in the match to Missouri’s (12-9, 3-3) .218, powering home 44 kills on 41 assists, with 47 digs to stun the crowd of 2,272 at the Hearnes Center in Columbia. Although there were 21 ties in the match, there were only seven lead changes as LSU held on to the lead for much of each of the three sets.
“We came in very prepared and very ready to play and I think we managed ourselves well, settled in and controlled the outcome,” head coach Fran Flory said. “We scored a lot of points tonight and we didn’t allow ourselves to make a lot of errors, but that’s been the message that when we terminate we can dictate outcome and we did that tonight.”
Sophomore middle blocker Briana Holman led LSU with 12 kills on the night, tying for the match high and hitting .611 with just one error to go along with her five blocks. Katie Lindelow and Cati Leak each had nine for LSU, while Mimi Eugene produced three.
Malorie Pardo earned the double-double by serving up 30 of LSU’s 41 assists and having 11 digs with three kills, three blocks and an ace.
“I thought Malorie had a very veteran performance tonight and created a lot of those opportunities,” Flory said. “Credit the hitters for taking advantage of their opportunities, especially Mimi, Cati, Bri and Katie. They took care of the ball and terminated when they had the chance.”
Haley Smith led all players with 13 digs on the night, while along with Pardo got nine from Lindelow and six from Leak.
Carly Kan finished with 12 kills for Missouri, earning eight kills on the night, while Ali Kreklow and Loxley Keala each had 15 assists. Sarah Meister finished with 12 digs for Missouri in the loss.
With both teams staying close in points early, it seemed as if the two sides would play to a tight contest, but that was before LSU was able to turn on the jets in a big way and power through Missouri led by Leak who finished with seven of LSU’s 17 kills in the first alone. The Tigers hit .351 in the opening frame, as Lindelow added two and Holman was 3-for-3, while Missouri hit .235.
LSU fell behind early as Missouri used its home crowd to go up and hold a lead of just two points, which was the largest for them during the first. Trailing 14-13, LSU would get a Leak kill to tie the match and followed with a block from Holman and Pardo to take its first lead at 15-14 heading into a media timeout. Those two points proved to be crucial for LSU as the team rolled from that point on, forcing Missouri to take both of its timeouts within points of each other with LSU going up 20-15 and holding on for the 25-19 set win.
A set up, the Tigers came back in the second and continued to hit well offensively, finishing with a .206 clip, although they finished with two less kills than Missouri, LSU was benefited with 10 points from Missouri unforced errors with six hitting errors and five service errors while LSU earned two service aces. Getting four kills each from Eugene and Holman provided eight of the 11 kills for the team, while earning three total team blocks.
Missouri took its first and only lead of the set in the first seven points, leading 4-3 before a 5-0 run by LSU put the visitors on top 8-4 to force Missouri into a timeout. Never looking back, LSU really got its grasp on the set by turning a four-point lead into a seven-point one getting two unforced Missouri errors amid a Lindelow kill to make it 21-14. At 23 -18, LSU needed just two more points to go up 2-0 in the match, and although it took some work, both came in the form of Missouri service errors to end it 25-20.
The third proved to be all LSU in the end as the team hit its best average of the night with a .394 clip, earning 16 kills to just three errors, once again getting some key help in opposition unforced errors as Missouri hit just .250 unable to pull one out against LSU in the match. Holman led all players in the set with five kills and a .444 average, while Emily Ehrle and Lindelow each had three.
There were 10 ties and two lead changes in the third alone, as LSU would have to work if they wanted to earn the sweep. Just like the first, Missouri found its stride early and was able to earn the first few points to hold a lead heading to the middle of the set before LSU was able to regroup and regain its form from the previous two.
Trailing Missouri by one at 13-12, a Pardo and Holman kill put LSU up 14-13, with a service error tying it up at 14 before Eugene put one away to make it 15-14 heading into the media timeout. That exchange was the boost the team needed as a bad set made it 16-14. Missouri took the next two to tie the set at 16, but that would be the final one of the night as LSU scored four of the next five to make it 20-17. From there LSU would hold Missouri to just two more points and go on to take the match 25-19.
LSU will be back in action on Sunday, traveling to take on No. 12 Kentucky in Lexington at 12:30 p.m. The match will be televised on SEC Network+.
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