The last time the LSU volleyball team played Tennessee at Thompson-Boling Arena in 2013, the Lady Volunteers gave the heavily favored Tigers a scare in a five-set thriller that went down to the wire.
The Tigers kept this season’s trip to Knoxville, Tennessee, relatively drama-free as they began a four-game road stretch with a dominant performance from start to finish defeating the Lady Volunteers 25-19, 25-19 and 25-16.
“Tennessee isn’t an easy place to play, and this is a good win for us because they have very good athletes and a very tough environment to try and win in,” LSU coach Fran Flory said in a news release.
LSU (8-7, 3-3 Southeastern Conference) put together a solid performance on both sides of the ball, posting a .300 hitting clip while holding Tennessee (7-13, 0-6 SEC) to one of .158 in the victory.
The victory served as the Tigers’ second consecutive sweep against a conference opponent and extended their winning streak to three games.
LSU sophomore middle blocker Briana Holman led the Tigers on offense, tallying 12 kills and a .667 hitting percentage without committing any hitting or blocking errors.
“The best part about [Holman] was that the balls she might not have had a quality swing on, she still made smart choices to keep the ball in play and put pressure on the opponent,” Flory said. “That’s another example of how these kids are starting to understand the game, instead of being great athletes playing the game.
Freshman outside hitter Mimi Eugene joined Holman as the only other player on the court with double-figure kills with 11. She added five service aces.
Eugene has combined for 26 kills with a .365 hitting clip and 13 digs in LSU’s consecutive sweeps of Mississippi State and Tennessee.
“Mimi would probably tell you that she had an OK performance, but she played great,” Flory said. “She [had] a slow start offensively, but she bounced back in a big way, and it was the first time she’s done that this season, so I was proud of her effort in doing so.”
The Tigers controlled a majority of the match but could never get comfortable against the young, pesky Tennessee squad.
In the first set, LSU took an early lead and never trailed on its way to a 12-9 advantage before the Lady Volunteers put together a 6-1 run to take their first lead of the match. But the Tigers responded with a 7-0 run of their own to take a 20-15 lead they never relinquished on their way to a 25-19 first-set win.
Tennessee battled LSU early in the second, splitting the first eight points of the set with the Tigers before a 4-1 run allowed LSU to run away for another 25-19 decision.
The Tigers powered their way to an 8-2 lead in the third set before the Lady Volunteers battled back and diminished LSU’s lead to 14-11. But Eugene took control of the set, tallying back-to-back points via a kill and an ace in a 3-0 run that all but put Tennessee away for a 25-16 match-winning victory.
“I was proud of how we played, and our players set some high standards for themselves but are really beginning to understand the process and understand if they focus on the games within the game, winning will take care of itself,” Flory said.
You can reach Tyler Nunez on Twitter @Nunez_TDR.