After the scheduling gauntlet of four Southeastern Conference games in just eight days, the LSU volleyball team took advantage of a weeklong break to prepare for the second half of the SEC slate.
LSU (19-2, 10-2) got back on track Friday night, winning a five set duel (25-21, 20-25, 27-25, 26-28, 15-10) against Georgia (11-12, 3-9) in Athens, Ga. The Tigers continued the winning efforts Sunday, taking care of Auburn (16-8, 7-5) in straight sets (25-20, 25-20, 29-27).
Bouncing back from the loss, four Tiger hitters struck for double digit kills in the first match of the weekend, as the Tigers flashed signs of a new, high-powered offense.
“This was a big weekend for us,” said senior outside hitter Angela Bensend. “Coming off a loss, we really wanted to prove ourselves to the coach, to the team, to everyone else that we’re here to win, and we really picked it up this week.”
After what LSU coach Fran Flory called weak performances in recent matches, she said the girls came ready to play this weekend.
“This is a great win for us,” Flory said. “I am very, very proud of this entire weekend for our team, especially today. We came with a new level of intensity, a new commitment to play and execute at a higher level.”
The new-look attack also produced five attackers with six or more kills in the Sunday match at Auburn, including a season-high seven kills for senior outside hitter and middle blocker Tania Schatow on just 10 swings.
“For the first time tonight, we created for her, and she did a great job creating for herself,” Flory said. “When those two things match up then she can be very successful. So that’s a [great], probably career night for Tania tonight.”
The Tigers have spent the majority of the season on the road, traveling for 13 of their 21 games. The team said making the journey through hostile environments early in the season helped keep them composed in times of trouble this weekend.
“I think we’re all really good at focusing on winning on the road,” Schatow said. “We played against TCU and Texas A&M at their house, and they were really loud. So we were already used to this environment, and I think that we handled it perfectly.”
LSU gets a break from road play this weekend as it welcomes SEC West rivals Mississippi State and Alabama to the PMAC.
As the Tigers get deeper into the second half of their SEC schedule, they begin playing teams for the second time in the season. Flory said these second round games are key to capping off the SEC.
“It’s hard when you play teams the second round in conference because everybody has a great scouting report on everybody else,” Flory said. “Then, it truly comes down to who is going to play and execute at the highest level, and certainly we’re going to have to continue to do that. We did it this weekend. We’ll see if we can do it Friday night in the PMAC.”
 
—————
Contact Mark Clements at [email protected]