OXFORD, Miss. — The No. 41 LSU women’s team defeated No. 21 Ole Miss, 4-2, behind wins by Noel Scott, Ella Taylor and Skylar Holloway on courts four, five and six Friday at the Gillom Sports Center. The Lady Tigers improved to 14-7 and 4-4 in conference play with the victory.
“It was a deserving win for this team. I don’t think there’s anymore adversity that a team could face on a game day,” head coach Julia Sell said. “This was an unreal day as far as challenges. I thought we competed for every single point, and we could have given in a lot of times. I feel like we battled with the best intensity all year.”
Play was moved to three indoor courts early in the first set due to weather. Skylar Kuykendall earned the lone win for LSU on the top three courts over No. 54 Mai El Kamash. Kuykendall extended her winning streak to seven matches with the 6-4, 6-1 win.
Ole Miss captured the other two courts and held a 2-1 lead going into the bottom half of the lineup. Scott, the lone senior, helped start the rally by LSU with a 6-1, 6-4 win on court four to tie it at 2-2.
Holloway dropped her first set but fought back to defeat Iris Verboven 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 on court six to give the Lady Tigers a 3-2 lead.
“I thought they showed a lot of focus by coming back after almost a two and half hour break,” Sell said. “They settled in and got back to what we do best to give us the victory.”
Taylor wrapped up the match for LSU on court five. The junior split the first two courts but held strong to defeat Zalina Khairudinova 6-4, 2-6, 6-0 and clinch the match for LSU.
“Ella did a phenomenal job and I was really excited for her,” Sell added. “She has had a lot of tight matches and she allowed the losses to make her better.”
The win over Ole Miss marked the highest ranked win for an LSU team under Sell. It was also the first time since 2009 that the Lady Tigers have beaten two teams in the top-30.
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March 27, 2015 at Oxford, Mississippi
(Gillom Sports Center)
#41 LSU 4, #21 Ole Miss 2
Singles Competition
1. #14 Julia Jones (OM) def. #39 Joana Vale Costa (LSU) 6-4, 6-7 (1-7), 6-0
2. #69 Skylar Kuykendall (LSU) def. #54 Mai El Kamash (OM) 6-4, 6-1
3. #120 Natalie Suk (OM) def. Abbyl Owens (LSU) 7-6 (8-6), 1-6, 7-5
4. Noel Scott (LSU) def. #107 Erin Stephens (OM) 6-1, 6-4
5. Ella Taylor (LSU) def. Zalina Khairudinova (OM) 6-4, 2-6, 6-0
6. Skylar Holloway (LSU) def. Iris Verboven (OM) 2-6, 6-2, 6-1
Doubles Competition
1. #32 Joana Vale Costa/Noel Scott (LSU) vs. Julia Jones/Natalie Suk (OM) no result
2. #66 Skylar Kuykendall/Abigail Owens (LSU) vs. Erin Stephens/Mai El Kamash (OM) no result
3. Skylar Holloway/Amanda Atanasson (LSU) vs. Marija Milutinovic/Iris Verboven (OM) no result
Match Notes:
LSU 14-7, 4-4; National ranking #41
Ole Miss 11-7, 3-6; National ranking #21
Order of finish: Doubles (); Singles (2,1,3,4,6,5)