The LSU volleyball team’s woes against ranked opponents continued over the weekend.
LSU fell to No. 3 Florida, 3-0, Sunday in Gainesville, Fla. The loss brings the Tigers record to 0-5 on the season against ranked opponents.
The Tigers lost to No. 2 Hawaii, No. 5 Kansas State, No. 10 Nebraska and No. 15 Colorado State before falling to the Gators on Sunday. Coach Fran Flory said playing a tough team should have helped the Tigers on Sunday against Florida.
“The reason we played such a difficult non-conference schedule this season was so our players would be ready to take on a team of the caliber of Florida when it came time to play them in the [Southeastern Conference],” Flory said. “We put our team up against some of the best teams in the country so that they would have experience against top caliber opponents.”
In addition to the Florida loss Sunday, LSU (11-16, 6-8 SEC) lost to Georgia on Friday night, 3-0.
In the match, junior Regan Hood led the Tigers with 13 kills and two blocks. Freshman Lauren Leaumont chipped in with seven kills and eight digs.
In game one of the Florida match, the Tigers battled the Gators early. Leading 12-9, the Gators busted the game open with a 9-3 run and never looked back, taking the game 30-16.
LSU battled early again in game two. Florida led 9-8 before blowing the game open with runs of 5-0, 6-0 and 3-0. Florida cruised to a 30-18 victory.
The Gators (26-1, 14-0 SEC) clinched the match in game three. After jumping out to an 11-5 lead, LSU cut the Florida lead to 17-13.
The Gators went on a 3-0 run to extend the lead, but the Tigers fought back to within four once again, 22-18. But a 6-1 run ended the Tigers day and the Gators won the match, 30-21.
Hood led the Tigers with eight kills. Leaumont recorded six kills and two blocks for the Tigers and Megan Heinz added five kills and two blocks for LSU.
Flory said she was more satisfied in the Florida loss than in the loss to the Bulldogs Friday night.
“I thought we did some things much better today,” Flory said. “I thought our ball control returned. Our service return was much better, and I think we took that away from their game plan.
“We did not run our offense well today and they controlled the plays at the net. They are an outstanding team, and we just did not have an answer for them at the net.”
LSU travels to Arkansas on Wednesday for a rematch against the Lady ‘Backs. Earlier this season, Arkansas defeated the Tigers in Baton Rouge, 3-1, in the SEC opener for LSU.
The Tigers then wrap up the regular season schedule on Sunday in Tuscaloosa when they take on the Alabama Crimson Tide.