The No. 10 LSU volleyball team swept another pair of Southeastern Conference opponents on the road this past weekend.
The Tigers completed a season sweep of the University of Georgia on Friday night, beating the Bulldogs 30-28, 30-19 and 30-28. LSU followed that performance with a 3-1 win against the University of South Carolina.
The victory against Georgia tied the 2005 LSU squad for most SEC wins since going 12-2 in conference play in 1992.
The two wins improved the Tigers to 20-3 on the season and 12-2 in SEC play. LSU reached the 20-win mark for the second-straight year and only the third time since 1992. LSU has won four consecutive games since being swept by the University of Florida on Oct. 15.
Underclassmen led the Tigers to victory against the Bulldogs. Sophomore outside hitter Kyna Washington led the team with 14 kills in the match, and sophomore outside hitter Marina Skender added 12 to go along with a team-high 16 digs.
Freshman middle blocker Brittnee Cooper, who started both weekend matches for LSU, and senior middle blocker Melody Clark had nine kills and four blocks each.
For the Bulldogs, sophomore outside hitter Maria Taylor posted a game-high 21 kills, and junior libero Brooke Burlingame had a game-high 19 digs.
Friday night’s match was anything but an easy win for the Tigers. LSU battled through 24 ties through the first two games before winning each.
The Tigers trailed early in game three, 10-4, before taking their first lead of the game, 20-19. The Bulldogs pulled away again by taking the lead 26-24, and later 28-27, but LSU scored the final three points of the game to take the match.
LSU coach Fran Flory said in a news release that despite the inconsistency, it was a good overall performance by her team.
“This was another very good outing,” Flory said. “We did not play as well as we have recently, but we did everything we needed to do to be successful.”
Georgia coach Steffi Legall said in a news release the match against LSU was one of the best her team has played this season.
“This was some of the highest-level volleyball we have played all season,” she said.
After dropping the first game Sunday to South Carolina, 29-31, the Tigers roared back to win three-straight games and the match, 30-23, 30-21 and 30-19.
Washington and Skender both posted 20 kills in the match, while Clark added 11.
Senior libero Kassi Mikulik anchored the defense with 16 digs, and Skender added 14.
Senior setter Daniela Romero recorded her 1,000th assist of the season in the match. Romero recorded the 4,000th assist of her career in Friday’s match against Georgia.
Senior outside hitter Shonda Cole led the Gamecocks with 13 kills, and freshman defensive specialist Sarah Cline led the match with 17 digs.
Following the match Flory applauded Washington’s performance.
“What a great match for Kyna Washington,” Flory said. “I thought she played exceptionally well.”
The Gamecocks jumped out to a 14-3 lead in game one. The Tigers got within two points at 21-19 and 24-22 and eventually tied the game at 28 before South Carolina pulled away.
LSU fell behind in both games two and three before rallying to win each, but the Tigers never trailed in the fourth game, sealing the victory.
—–Contact Tyler Batiste at [email protected]