Volunteers spike through volleyball squad
LSU loses two straight before SEC Tournament
By David Theard, Sports Writer
Going into the postseason, a team usually wants to be reaching its peak and playing its best when the games mean the most.
However, going in to this week’s Southeastern Conference Volleyball Tournament, it seems as though the LSU Tigers’ quality of play is going down instead of up.
The Tigers (17-10, 9-7 SEC) were swept for the second consecutive time Sunday, as they fell to SEC East foe Tennessee, 3-0, in Knoxville, Tenn.
They also were blanked by Arkansas in Fayetteville, Ark., 3-0, on Wednesday.
“I am disappointed in the way we closed out the season,” said LSU head coach Fran Flory. “We will need to regroup as we head into the first round of the SEC Tournament next week.”
Once again, LSU struggled getting into any kind of offensive rhythm, as the Tigers recorded a .241 hitting percentage for the match. On the other hand, the Volunteers were able to register a .381 hitting percentage and had the Tigers on their heels the entire match.
“Our defense had trouble the entire match, and our ball control was very poor,” Flory said. “Our offense was inefficient and did not play well. We did not go out and attack them, but instead we let them control the outcome of the match.”
Tennessee defeated the Tigers in both games one and two by a score of 30-25, as the Lady Volunteers used 7-3 and 7-0 runs to put away the Tigers in each game, respectively.
Then Tennessee took advantage of LSU’s ball control problems, as it recorded five service aces and went on an 8-0 run to dominate the third game, 30-18. Tennessee hit an impressive .538 percentage in the final game.
Sophomore Kyra Lancon and freshman Cara Causey led the Tigers offensively, contributing 11 and 10 kills, respectively.
Senior outside hitters Jennifer Hampton and Rachel Vogt struggled once again, as Hampton recorded a .034 hitting percentage and Vogt a -.067 hitting percentage.
The Tigers, who are the fourth seed in the SEC Tournament, now will face fifth seed Georgia Friday in the first round of the championships. The time is yet to be announced.