Youth is the LSU volleyball team’s middle name. And this weekend at the Mean Green Classic in Denton, Texas, the kids grew up.
The Tigers defeated North Texas in the final match Saturday to take home the championship, LSU’s first tournament win this season. Junior Regan Hood earned top honors, being named the Mean Green Classic’s Most Valuable Player.
Hood averaged 4.91 kills per game along with 13 blocks and 25 digs for the weekend. She recorded her third double-double of the young season agaist the University of Texas-El Paso with 13 kills and 10 digs.
Oral Roberts dropped the Tigers on opening day, 30-26, 28-30, 30-22, 30-27. Hood recorded 25 kills in the contest, the second most kills recorded this season by a Southeastern Conference player.
But the Tigers bounced back in a big way Saturday, sweeping UTEP in the first contest of the day, 30-27, 30-28, 30-16. LSU then fought back from a lopsided first game defeat to topple host North Texas, 10-30, 30-21, 30-28, 30-26
“Today was a really important step forward for this program,” coach Fran Flory said. “We battled back after a poor outing yesterday.”
Hood led the team with 16 kills against North Texas. Megan Heinz, who was named to the all-tourament team, recorded 14 kills and a team-high seven blocks.
The match went back-and-forth, especially in the final game. North Texas jumped out to an early 12-7 lead. But the Tigers fought back to tie the game at 15. LSU did not hold the lead for good until a Cowley kill gave the Tigers a 26-25 lead.
“I think we have finally found our personality and our lineup,” she said. “That’s what our pre-conference schedule is all about, finding your identity. This was great preparation for the start of conference play next week.”
The Tigers (5-7) return to action Wednesday against SEC-foe Arkansas at 7 p.m. in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.