The LSU volleyball team kept its season alive Thursday night, sweeping Oklahoma in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, 25-14, 25-23, 25-22.
Sophomore middle blocker Briana Holman posted six blocks and 13 kills while hitting .407 in the match. Three outside hitters, juniors Cati Leak and Katie Lindelow and freshman Gina Tillis, contributed 25 kills, but it was LSU’s defense that led it to victory.
Junior defensive specialist Haley Smith and Tillis both tallied double-digit digs, with 19 and 11, respectively.
The Sooners had a .119 hitting percentage in the match, thanks in part to the Tigers’ 16 blocks. Leak, Lindelow and Tillis combined for six rejections.
Holman and Leak got the match started with a block of All-Big 12 First Team junior outside hitter Kierra Holst. From there, LSU and Oklahoma traded points early in the match.
With LSU leading 12-8, it began a 6-1 run to claim an 18-9 lead. Oklahoma never got back to within seven points, and LSU took the set, 25-14.
Senior setter Malorie Pardo, Tillis, Leak, Lindelow and Holman each had at least two kills in the set. The second set went much the same as the first.
With the match tied at five, the Tigers went on a 7-2 run to give themselves a 12-7 lead, but this time, the Sooners didn’t go down as easily.
After an Oklahoma timeout, freshman middle blocker Marion Hazelwood and sophomore outside hitter Jody Larson each had two kills and led the Sooners back to within one point at 17-16, but they were never able tie the match. LSU took the second set, 25-23.
Holman and Leak combined for 11 kills, while Tillis and Lindelow each contributed three in the set.
The third set was tight from the start, with neither team holding more than a two-point lead until LSU scored six straight points to take a 17-11 lead.
But the Sooners weren’t ready to see their season end just yet. Oklahoma went on a run of its own, scoring six of seven points to bring the match within one point at 20-19. LSU held off Oklahoma, and despite having its worst hitting percentage of the night in the set, the Tigers won the third set, 25-22.
LSU will face No. 10 overall seed Oregon tonight at 6 p.m. If the Tigers win, it will be Flory’s first trip out of the first two rounds of the tournament in her LSU head coaching career.