LSU volleyball is getting closer to displaying what was expected of the team to begin the season. The talent and the competitiveness are there, all that’s left is learning how to finish.
The Tigers (5-7, 0-3 Southeastern Conference) dropped their third consecutive match Friday night, losing 3-1 to SEC powerhouse No. 9 Florida (9-3, 3-0 SEC) at the PMAC. The result will keep Florida in the top 10 in the AVCA poll and will keep LSU at the bottom of the SEC.
“The good part is that we made them earn and we took them out of what they wanted to do and certainly our game plan worked. But we weren’t able to sustain it long enough,” Flory said. “We couldn’t finish. We had every opportunity to finish and get to five [sets] and once again, we did not fight through hard enough at the end.”
The match concluded in an exciting fourth set, where LSU blew a 22-18 lead by losing the final seven points. Most of the comeback was due to LSU’s miscues, with Tigers’ attacking errors resulting in five of the seven points.
The collapse in the fourth set looked similar to LSU’s match on Sunday, when Alabama won a sensational fourth set 35-33. The Tigers led the Tide in that set as well, and Flory said the team must capitalize on these opportunities moving forward.
The Tigers dropped the first set 25-14, committing 10 attacking errors and trailing in the set from the start. LSU were only down 6-3 to begin the set, but the Gators went on a 10-1 run to open up a significant lead. Florida was led by junior outside hitter Gabby Mallette who recorded four kills including the one to clinch the set.
It was the fourth consecutive time LSU has lost the first set, including the Tigers’ other two conference games.
LSU got back into the match quickly, winning 25-23 in a second set that featured 14 ties and five lead changes. The Tigers prevented Florida from have a huge run and broke away for good when they scored four straight points to gain a 23-19 lead.
The Tigers were led by freshman outside hitter Gina Tillis, who recorded five kills and only no errors in the set. Tillis finished the game with 15 kills and said she has become more confident as the season has moved on.
“As a freshman to start the season, I was a little nervous and I didn’t know if I could make it with these big girls in the SEC,” Tillis said. “But lately I’ve become a lot more confident in my play.”
Florida jumped out to a 9-2 lead in the third set, and it didn’t look back from there. The Gators won the set 25-11, the largest deficit LSU has suffered in any set this season.
The star for the Gators was senior libero Holly Pole, who is coming off a SEC defensive player of the week award and leads the team in digs. Pole recorded 18 digs Friday night, the eighth game this season she has posted double-digit digs.
Flory praised Pole for being a leader on team and said her and the other Gators’ defenders are what makes them so hard to play against.
The Tigers look to rebound and win their first SEC game Sunday afternoon when they play Arkansas at 1 p.m. at the PMAC.