LSU coach Fran Flory was hoping a five-set loss to No. 8 Florida on Friday would be a confidence boost for the team.And the Tigers responded well to the setback, defeating South Carolina, 3-2 (21-25, 27-25, 25-17, 21-25, 15-13), on Sunday afternoon.”We were spent, both physically and emotionally.” Flory said. “We got backed into a corner, and we knew this was a must-win match for us. Their response, I am really proud of.”Flory said she thought the team would come out and struggle early, and they did, losing the first set, 25-21. She said the team was able to get back on track because of the momentum from Friday night.”We couldn’t ever get on track Friday night,” Flory said. “Tonight we had a defining player and a couple of defining plays. Angela Bensend took some big swings for us throughout, and she provided a spark. Our young kids are doing a great job. I can’t say enough about them.”LSU freshman middle blocker Michele Williams said the loss against Florida was both a confidence boost and letdown.”We really wanted to win,” Williams said. “We were right there with them.”But Williams said the team was able to rest Saturday to prepare for the match against South Carolina.”We recovered [Saturday],” she said. “We got a good sleep, and we were ready for our game today. We knew that if it goes to five, then it goes to five. We’re ready to play no matter what.”The Tigers won set one in Friday night’s 3-2 loss to Florida. The Tigers were 7-0 going into the match.”Florida proved that Florida is the No. 8 team in the country,” Flory said. “They were supposed to win, and they played like they were supposed to win when their backs were against the wall. When you are going to beat someone, you have to be aggressive, and you have to make plays. You can’t try to create too much. We tried too hard at certain times. We tried to be too good, instead of doing what we do. We tried to press at key times, and ultimately that cost us the match.”Junior Brittnee Cooper had a career-high 24 kills in the match to go along with 12 blocks.”We had no answer for Cooper,” said Florida coach Mary Wise. “She was an All-American tonight.”Flory agreed.”Brittnee Cooper is an All-American,” she said. “She just doesn’t have her picture and the certificate on the wall yet. She’s amongst the best in the country.”Flory said she was pleased with the team’s overall weekend play, but she felt the Tigers could have played less volleyball.”Overall for the whole weekend we played hard, but we didn’t necessarily execute well,” she said. “The lack of execution got us into two five-set matches.”The Tigers (12-7, 7-5) return to action Friday at Kentucky.—-Contact Andy Schwehm at [email protected]