The short, stressful week finally took its toll on the No. 12 LSU volleyball team.
The brutal schedule of four Southeastern Conference matches in just eight days showed its effects as the Lady Tigers (17-2, 8-2) were swept by Ole Miss (13-5, 7-2) Friday in Oxford, Miss.
LSU coach Fran Flory said the Rebels seemed to control the match and credited their victory to effort.
“We could never really get on track, and you have to credit Ole Miss,” Flory said in a news release. “They just outplayed us, outfought us and were more physical than us. They were the better team tonight.”
With the win, Ole Miss moved within a half match of LSU in the SEC West.
“This was a great team win for us tonight,” Ole Miss coach Joe Getzin said in a news release. “We executed our game plan very well. We limited our errors and let our defense put the pressure on them.”
The Tigers were limited to a season-low .111 hitting percentage as they saw their 34-match winning streak against SEC West opponents come to an end.
Senior outside hitter Angela Bensend’s 11-match run of double-digit kills also ended. The SEC leader in kills per set was held to just seven spikes and a season-low -.108 hitting clip.
Junior middle blocker Michele Williams also turned in a season-low five kills.
“The bottom line is our team didn’t play very well,” Flory said. “We didn’t show much character or heart. Certainly, that’s very disappointing.”
There were some bright spots in the match for the Tigers, however.
Freshman middle blocker Desiree Elliott shined for the second straight match with four blocks to go along with her career-best 13 kills.
“Desi was very good for us,” Flory said. “We couldn’t get the ball to her enough and stay in those rotations [that she plays in]. We didn’t have good defense behind us to get those transition swings and point scoring opportunities.”
Junior libero Lauren Waclawczyk also reeled in a match-best 18 digs, and sophomore defensive specialist Sam Delahoussaye garnered 11 of her own in the loss.
Despite the poor play, Flory said the young team should take the loss as a learning experience for the rest of the year.
“We will gain some confidence out of this through our work next week in the gym,” Flory said. “We have to look at this as a new start to the second half of our SEC season. There’s plenty more matches left, and our kids will respond.”
The Lady Tigers finally get some rest to regroup this week. They have a week off before hosting SEC East foe Georgia on Friday in the PMAC.
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Contact Mark Clements at [email protected]