The LSU volleyball team recovered from a loss Friday night to sweep two matches Saturday.  The first match Saturday came against the Long Beach State 49ers. LSU (6-3) started sluggishly, losing the first set to the 49ers (5-2), but the Tigers rallied to win the next three sets and take the match, 3-1.”I’m very proud of the people that we substituted into the lineup after the first set,” LSU coach Fran Flory said. Senior middle blocker Brittnee Cooper led the team with 21 kills and finished the match with a .447 hitting percentage.Senior outside hitter Marina Skender and senior setter Sam Dabbs tacked on double digit kills with 10 apiece.The Tigers’ final match of the weekend marked their best performance of the weekend, as LSU swept UNO (4-5), 3-0.”We got into a great rhythm and took a big step today,” Flory said. “We were able to get some players experience and quality reps in situations that will help us down the road in [Southeastern Conference] play.”
Cooper again led the Tigers in kills with 14. She also finished the match with a .542 hitting percentage, the fifth time in six matches with a hitting percentage of more than .400.Skender again tallied double-digit kills with 10.The Tigers now move on to begin SEC play next weekend when Tennessee comes to the PMAC on Friday and Kentucky comes to town Sunday.”Tennessee and Kentucky is one of the toughest two-match weekends, and we’re fortunate to start SEC play at home,” Flory said. “We haven’t been able to win on Friday night this season, and I challenge the team to come out and take care of business.”TIGERS FALL TO WAVE Before this weekend’s Allstate Sugar Bowl Classic, Flory said she expected her Tigers to face a completely different Tulane team from the one they defeated a week earlier. She was exactly right.On September 5, LSU took down Tulane in three sets. But Friday, the Green Wave (3-3) beat the Tigers at Fogleman Arena in New Orleans.”You have to credit Tulane because they played with great heart and desire after dropping their Conference USA championship banner from last year,” Flory said after the Tulane match. “We didn’t have anybody willing to step up and carry us to a win tonight.”Tulane was led by senior outside hitter Ksenija Vlaskovic and sophomore outside hitter Visnja Djurdjevic, who combined for 35 of Tulane’s 52 kills.The Tigers had three players finish the match with double-digit kills. Skender led the team with a season-high 16 kills. Cooper had 12, and sophomore middle blocker Michele Williams tacked on 10.Tulane coach Sinisa Momic said even though his team was not consistent, its ability to stick together led it to victory.”Our passing was up and down. It wasn’t steady. [Our setting] was up and down, wasn’t really steady at all. But we played as a team and that is what pulled us through at the end,” Momic said.————Contact Rob Landry at [email protected]