The LSU volleyball team has finally hit its stride this season.
After struggling to finish matches earlier in the year, the Tigers pointed to unity and trust as the keys to their current seven-game win streak.
The run is the longest since the first seven games of the 2013 season, but unlike last year’s, every win of this streak has been against Southeastern Conference opponents.
LSU opened conference play with three consecutive losses and struggled to win close sets. Since then, the Tigers have turned it around. They came back from down two sets to one and knocked off Arkansas in five sets Oct. 5, starting their streak and rise to third place in the SEC standings.
Sophomore middle blocker Briana Holman said the win against Arkansas was when the Tigers figured out what they needed to do.
“That was the first time that we finished regardless of what happened at the beginning of the game,” Holman said. “That was the moment we figured it out, and ever since then, we’ve been on this run.”
After beating Arkansas, the Tigers beat Mississippi State in three sets at home but faced a four-game road stretch against Tennessee, Missouri, Ole Miss and a Kentucky team that had already beaten LSU this season.
LSU not only won those four matches, but they dropped only two sets in the process.
LSU coach Fran Flory said winning on the road has done wonders for her team’s confidence.
“When you’re on the road, you have to bond together,” Flory said. “I think they have a different air about them. They have a different confidence and they trust each other a little more.”
The Tigers returned home Sunday and faced a Georgia team with only two conference wins, but LSU wouldn’t let the Bulldogs ruin their streak.
The Tigers took an extended third set, 28-26, and again flexed their new killer instincts to beat Georgia in four sets.
Holman said the trust the Tigers have developed was needed during Sunday’s win.
“There’s a point in every game where the other [team] gets on you, and you’re like, ‘Oh crap,’” Holman said. “Then you just have to have your composure. It makes it a lot easier to say, ‘it’s okay.’”
LSU remains humble despite the success, Holman said. “Focus on the next and forget about the last” is a slogan the team has adopted to keep its focus.
Flory said her team was pressing too much early in the season, which led to the Tigers’ struggles.
“We were playing for too much instead of just trusting the process,” Flory said. “We started setting some individual goals and having a shorter vision and not trying to see so far into the future with one touch or one play.”
Flory said her team is now starting to have fun, and that’s one reason behind LSU’s winning streak.
“It’s typical of any team that’s going to have success at any point in the season.” Flory said. “That comfort level and that trust can’t be there unless you’re really having fun, and if you’re having fun, then you really do trust.”