LSU takes home another in conference victory in the PMAC with a sweep of Auburn Oct. 14.
LSU took down Auburn in three sets with scores of 25-22, 25-21, 25-23. This makes the Tigers 7-11 overall and 2-5 in conference.
With back-to-back SEC wins in the PMAC, the Tiger’s momentum is through the roof. This was the first 3-0 win LSU has had in a long time, and coach Fran Flory is very proud of her team.
“We’re excited about the win,” Flory said immediately. “I’m proud of our team. I’m proud of the consistency and the mentality that we’re playing with. That’s a huge difference, and I think we finally found ourselves. I appreciate the work that our kids have put in and our staff has put in to find that.”
It was a full team effort as the Tigers put together one of their most complete games of the season.
Outside hitters Taylor Bannister and Milan Stokes led the Tigers with 11 kills each. Outside hitter Sydney Mukes came close, adding another 10 kills. Mukes was named Player of the Match with zero errors. Anna Zwiebel put up 36 assists and defensive specialist Raigen Cianciulli took over the back row with 19 digs. Defensive specialist Leigh Maher finished with 10 digs as well.
LSU did a good job controlling the match. Auburn only took the lead once, in the third set. The end of the third set, Auburn started to put up a fight and caused LSU to use both of their timeout after pushing up 6 points. During those timeouts, Flory was telling her team to focus on themselves rather than what Auburn was doing.
“We allowed them to back us out of what we did several times throughout the match,” Flory said. “We have to be tougher after 30 at maintaining, understanding we don’t have to have the big play. In the end that showed, Milan didn’t go take the big rip to score match point. She hit the smart shot. It’s not about being impressive, it’s about being impactful.”
This is the second match in a row in the PMAC with two more to come. Home court advantage seemed to be a factor in the win on Sunday, especially after the LSU spirit from Saturday’s football game.
“We’ve got a lot of positive energy on this campus right now,” Flory commented. “It’s awfully fun to feel that vibe come at you and the confidence as people walked into the building. You could feel the crowd starting to believe in us. I appreciate the mentality of the crowd, I appreciate the positivity of the crowd, and certainly I appreciate everybody coming out on a beautiful Sunday afternoon.”
LSU will face Kentucky Friday at 6 p.m. in the PMAC. The team hopes this momentum will keep rolling as they face what is the debatably the most physical team in the conference.
“We’re gonna have to be really good systematically. We’re gonna have to put together a good blocking game plan and our offense needs to keep coming,” Flory said on facing the Wildcats. “As we grow together and stay together, I think this team will continue to get better and better.”