ORLANDO – The LSU volleyball team (3-4) used a 10-kill and .588 hitting percentage performance from junior Khourtni Fears to open the UCF Classic with a 25-19, 25-22, 23-25, 25-18 win over Seattle Friday Afternoon at the Venue.
The Tigers return to action at 6 p.m. CT against the host Knights for the second match of the weekend. UCF defeated Florida Atlantic in the first match of the tournament Friday morning.
Opening Set
LSU opened the match by outhitting Seattle .394-.059. The Tigers finished the set with 17 kills and committed just four errors. After a service error allowed Seattle to close the score to 18-19, LSU finished off the set on a 6-1 run highlighted by two service aces by sophomore Katie Kampen.
Second Set
The Tigers and Redhawks fought back and forth with eight tie scores and three lead changes. SU outhit LSU in the set .368-.333 with both teams just committing three errors each. After SU committed a rotation error, LSU tied the match and went on a 10-2 run to take control of the set and force SU into taking a timeout. The Tigers ultimately took the set 25-22.
Third Set
Seattle did not back down in the third set, and had a strong showing by outhitting LSU .250-.242. The Redhawks committed five errors in the frame but finished with three aces. Freshmen Sydney Mukes and Anna Zwiebel led the way for LSU with four kills and 11 assists respectively.
Final Set
SU carried the momentum for the third-set into the fourth and took a 7-2 lead out of the gate. While the Tigers hit just .219, they took advantage of a .000 from their opponents, including nine errors. Junior Gina Tillis closed out the match with her 16th kill of the match and sixth of the set.
Team Notes
>> Zwiebel finished with 46 assists, which tied for a career high. She also accounted for 12 assists for the first double-double of her career.
>> Tillis led the way for the team with 16 kills. She also had seven digs and one service ace.
>> Fears finished with a season-best 10 kills and a .588 hitting percentage in the match.
>> Mukes also accounted for double-digit kills with 11 on the day.
Social Center
For all of the latest news and information on Tiger volleyball, visit www.lsusports.net/volleyball. Fans can also follow the program on its social media outlets at www.Facebook.com/lsuvolleyball along with @lsuvolleyball and @lsucoachfran on Twitter and @lsuvb on Instagram.