The LSU volleyball team put on a show this weekend in front of a rowdy home crowd in the PMAC, winning both matches of the weekend.
After sweeping Kentucky in straight sets (25-13, 25-21, 25-22) Friday night, No. 15 LSU had to out-duel the No. 22 Tennessee Volunteers in four tough sets (25-23, 30-28, 23-25, 25-20) to walk away victorious.
“The bottom line is this was a great SEC volleyball match,” LSU coach Fran Flory said. “It was a battle — every single point was a battle. If you look at the stats, they’re very similar. There’s just a few errors from one team to the other that really decided this match.”
With the win, the Tigers improve their record to 7-1 in the SEC and 16-1 overall.
LSU had solid performances all around, including great outings by the front line. Along with 14 total team blocks, the Tigers killed 61 balls and had a .339 passing percentage.
The Tigers were led by their outside hitters senior Angela Bensend and sophomore Madie Jones, reeling in 18 and 16 kills, respectively.
“I thought Madie was outstanding,” Flory said. “She took big swings in big situations, and she terminated. She continues to get better and better. I think that was just absolutely a great effort by her.”
Jones, who finished the game with a .433 hit percentage, credited the back line for the team’s successes Sunday.
“We had so much faith in [junior defensive specialist] Lauren Waclawczyk and everyone on the back row that was digging all those crazy balls, and even in the front row with our blocking, it was all clicking,” Jones said. “We trusted in each other today, and it was going great.”
Senior setter Brittney Johnson dished out 46 assists in the match and constantly set up the hitters with one-on-one matchups.
Johnson said the team’s confidence carries them throughout the matches.
“Whenever you believe you’re going to win the game, you do stuff out of your body that you don’t normally do,” Johnson said. “It’s even different from practice carrying over to a game. I believed in us completely and we all made up some good plays so that was really important.”
Flory also commented on the team’s confidence and said they go into every game with a winning attitude.
“We have a lot of faith and confidence in each other and in ourselves,” Flory said. “When you win this many matches, it’s hard to break a team. We truly believe, and we’ve proven it. We’ve earned the right to believe that when we walk on the court, we have a chance to beat anybody.”
The Tigers face a quick turnaround this week, hosting Arkansas on Wednesday night in the PMAC.
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Contact Mark Clements at [email protected]