BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – After coming off the bench to help spark LSU to an upset of Kentucky in Lexington on Sunday, Tiger freshman outside hitter Gina Tillis was named the SEC Freshman of the Week the league announced Monday morning.
It is the first weekly award for the Rockwall, Texas, native, and the second for an LSU player this season, following Briana Holman who was named the SEC’s Offensive Player of the Week in the very first week of the season on Sept. 2.
Playing in only one match in LSU’s two-win weekend, Tillis made her mark against the ranked Wildcats by registering 17 kills and hitting for a .375 average, as the Tigers rallied back from a 2-0 deficit in the match to snap Kentucky’s 11-match overall winning streak and its seven-match SEC conference winning streak in the process.
Really making her mark in the rotation at the start of the third set, the Rockwall Heath product earned 15 kills in the final three sets in the win after having just two in the first two combined. In the third set alone, Tillis powered home eight kills which was the most for any player in any set in the match, also accounting for four blocks with three assisted and one solo.
LSU was able to extend its season-long winning streak to five matches, as the squad defeated Missouri on Friday, snapping their 12-match home SEC winning streak, while the win over Kentucky two days later was the first over a ranked opponent on the road since the 2010 season.
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