The No. 15 LSU volleyball team struggled to get the offense clicking on all cylinders during Sunday’s back-and-forth battle as it fell to Kentucky, 3-2, on senior day in Lexington, Ky.
The Tigers (23-3, 14-3) fell three matches behind Florida in Southeastern Conference standings but remain two matches ahead of Ole Miss for the SEC West lead.
“I don’t think we lost this match; they beat us,” said LSU coach Fran Flory. “They outplayed us on a few points, and I honestly feel like we lost the match, maybe, losing that first set 25-23.”
In the first set, LSU led 20-17 before Kentucky (16-12,
10-8) claimed eight of the final 11 points and the set victory.
The Tigers evened things up in the second set with a 25-21 victory but fell behind again in the third set when the Wildcats took a 25-23 win.
The fourth set was pivotal for LSU. It took an early 5-4 lead and never looked back, winning the set, 25-18, and once again making things square with Kentucky.
“We fought back and were able to regain our composure … and play at a high level in the fourth,” Flory said.
The lack of consistency bothered Flory.
“The problem was that we weren’t able to [play well] through different sets,” Flory said. “But I think we fought really hard. We didn’t play poorly. Kentucky played just a little bit better.”
Freshman middle blocker Desiree Elliott led with 20 kills. She
also finished the match with a .395 hitting percentage.
Senior setter Brittney Johnson was the only other Tiger with
double-digit kills, finishing the match with 12.
The Tigers were led by junior libero Lauren Waclawczyk, who dug 24 balls, and senior outside hitter Angela Bensend’s 10 digs. The double-digit dig output for Waclawczyk marked the 13th consecutive match in which she has recorded more than 10.
Kentucky, on the other hand, attacked with a well-rounded approach.
Four Wildcats had double digit-kills, and a fifth player finished the game with nine.
Defensively, Kentucky also had four players that dug double-digit balls for a team total of 83 digs.
Though LSU has just three matches remaining in the regular season, Waclawczyk is not concerned with Sunday’s setback.
“We’re going to bounce back from it,” Waclawczyk said. “It’s just a loss for us. … We just have to get back on track.”
Friday afternoon had a much better feel for the Tigers, as they defeated No. 21 Tennessee, 3-1, in Knoxville, Tenn.
The Tigers dropped the first set, 25-18, before catching fire and sweeping the next three en route to victory.
Junior middle blocker Michele Williams recorded a team-high 15 kills. Johnson added 43 assists, nine kills and eight digs.
“This match was truly a grind for both teams,” Flory said. “Neither team was able to get on track because of the defensive game plans. The blocking and back court defense caused trouble on both sides of the net. Certainly, we’re fortunate and excited to come out with the win.”
Waclawczyk tallied 14 digs, and sophomore libero Meghan Mannari followed right behind with 11 of her own.
“It was important that we executed at a high level and played to our ability,” Johnson said in a news release. “We’ve been practicing playing fast. It was great to find a rhythm, and it felt like the beginning of the season when we just went out there and played.”
 
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Contact Rob Landry at [email protected]