The volleyball team completed its season this weekend at home where it hosted the Southeastern Conference/Conference-USA Challenge in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. LSU hosted SEC rival Alabama and C-USA teams Tulane and Houston in the tournament. The Tigers came out of the weekend with a win over Tulane on Friday but could not seal the win against Houston Saturday night.
The Tigers came out early Friday night against the Green Wave by taking the first two games 33-31 and 30-18, heading into the locker room at halftime needing only one win to clinch the match. But Tulane answered back, taking games three and four with scores of 32-34 and 25-30, forcing a sudden death game five. LSU faced three ties throughout the game but fought to clinch the game 15-13 clinching the match also.
“I think we came out a little flat [in the game] and we’re lucky to survive this match,” said coach Fran Flory in a press release. “We just didn’t have that killer instinct and we did not control our side of the net very well. Credit Tulane for coming back from two games down. They created problems for us.”
The Tigers did not have as much time as usual to prepare for their next match. After Friday night’s win, LSU had to begin to prepare for Houston, who it faced Saturday night. Throughout most of the season the team has competed on Friday and Sunday — giving them more time to recuperate and prepare.
“We will have to come out better tomorrow because Houston is a better team and played better today,” Flory said. “We are just going to have to rally the troops and come out with intensity. We will have to play with a different level of preparedness.”
LSU seemed up to the challenge after taking the first game 30-24. Houston answered back taking the second match 30-27 as both teams headed into halftime tied at one game a piece. The Tigers came out of the locker room and fought its way to a 30-28 win in game three. Houston responded again, taking game four 30-27 and forcing LSU to a fifth match for the second time on the weekend. The Tigers jumped out early with a 7-3 lead but could not hold on as Houston surpassed LSU to take the game 15-11 and the match.
“I thought the team that made the best plays at the end was going to win and that was the case,” Flory said. “Houston just played better right at the end, which is too bad for us. I think it will be a good lesson for our younger players on how tough we need to be with our ball control and defense in the future to be successful.”
LSU has finished the year at 17-12 on the season. This season’s record is the best record Flory has led a team to in her seven-year run as LSU’s head coach.
“We fought with everything we had [Saturday night],” Flory said. “You have to give credit to Houston and the way they played defense. It is unfortunate for us to not end this season the right way.”