Freshman outside hitter Mimi Eugene and sophomore middle blocker Briana Holman led the LSU volleyball team to a three set win over Mississippi State, 25-13, 25-12, 25-15, Wednesday night in the PMAC.
The Tigers (7-7, 2-3 Southeastern Conference) controlled the first two sets thanks to six different runs of at least four points and used a five point streak in the third set to pull away for good. In the three sets, the lead changed hands only one time.
LSU coach Fran Flory said the Tigers came out wanting to dominate.
“We did not let up and we did not take our foot off the gas pedal,” Flory said. “The brand of volleyball we chose to play was an aggressive attack mindset and we haven’t done that in the past. We’ve come out and felt the opponents out to see what they were going to do and see how hard do we have to play.”
The most aggressive Tigers were Eugene and Holman, who totaled 23 kills. But Eugene stole the show, leading LSU in kills in every set with six, five and four respectively.
Flory said Eugene came out to prove she belongs on the court all game every game, but Eugene said she was just trying to help the team reach its pre-match goals.
“We made three goals coming into this game,” Eugene said. “We wanted to pass above 60 percent, hit above .300 and win the serve and pass game.”
According to Flory, the Tigers reached every goal thanks to their aggressive mindset.
Carrying Wednesday night’s momentum and aggression forward will be crucial as the Tigers head out on the road for four important conference matches, starting with Tennessee this Sunday.
Flory said staying aggressive on the road won’t be easy, but the Tigers’ coach is confident in her team.
“Certainly we’ll try to be aggressive against Tennessee,” Flory said. “It’s always different at Tennessee on the road. It’s a tough place to play, but I think this team will be ready.”
LSU sophmore middle blocker Briana Holman (13) and freshman outside hitter Mimi Eugene (10) defend the ball against Mississippi freshman middle blocker Laticia Valente (9) where LSU won 3-0 in the PMAC Wednesday.
