LSU volleyball coach Fran Flory became the winningest coach in program history Wednesday night when the Tigers continued their hot streak and completed the road swing sweep in a three-set victory against Ole Miss at the Gillom Sports Complex.
The Tigers (11-7, 6-3 Southeastern Conference) never trailed in the third and final set of their sixth consecutive win and their fourth sweep in five games in which they handed Ole Miss (18-4, 4-4 SEC) its first home loss of the season.
“It’s my dream to be here,” Flory said in a news release. “It’s my dream job and you get to do it for as long as I have. That’s a lot of wins by a lot of players and a lot of hard work by staff members. [Assistant coach] Jill Lytle Wilson has been here with me most of the way as a player and coach, and that’s one example of the credit that should go to all of the coaches and players who have been here along the way.”
The road swing culminated in LSU’s 28-26, 25-18, 25-20 win in Oxford, Mississippi. The Tigers offensively dominated Ole Miss, hitting at a .333 clip while holding the Rebels to a .198 attacking percentage.
Sophomore middle blocker Briana Holman once again led the Tigers with 16 kills while earning a .414 hitting percentage and tallying six blocks.
Freshman outside hitters Gina Tillis and Mimi Eugene added 12 kills each while combining for a .327 hitting clip and 10 kills.
Flory said she hopes this is just the beginning of LSU’s run this season.
“I thought we showed great poise tonight, and I’m proud of our effort,” Flory said. “We were balanced, and we controlled our opportunities. We didn’t allow them to make runs, but they could never seize the momentum. We held the energy on our side and did a great job of controlling the match because of that.”
After opening conference play with three straight losses, LSU has won six straight matches, losing just four sets during that stretch.
The streak began Oct. 5 with a five-set victory against Arkansas in which the Tigers overcame a 2-1 set deficit.
They then returned to the PMAC three days later to earn their first sweep of the season against Mississippi State before hitting the road for a stretch of four consecutive away games over 10 days — LSU’s longest conference road swing of the season.
LSU did not lose a set in its first two games of the stretch against Tennessee and Missouri, extending its winning streak to four games and 11 consecutive sets.
It seemed the Tigers’ run would end in Lexington, Kentucky, on Sunday, when they dropped their first two sets to then-No. 12 Kentucky. But the Tigers would not die, and they came back to win three consecutive sets to end the Wildcats’ 11-match winning streak and earn their biggest win of the season, setting up LSU’s road sweep with its win against Ole Miss.
“We expect to continue this and get better,” Flory said. “We’re excited about what the rest of the season holds and excited about the next couple of recruiting classes and it’s a tribute to this staff for putting us in the position that we’re in now.”
You can reach Tyler Nunez on Twitter @Nunez_TDR.