The LSU volleyball team dropped a pair of matches to Tennessee and Florida this weekend, putting it just one game away from the end of a season in which success has seemed to elude it.
LSU (12-16) fell to Tennessee (21-6) in straight sets Sunday to put an end to its four-game road trip.
The Volunteers proved to be too much for the Tigers, as they used late runs led by their seniors to take all three sets.
“When you have the seniors that Tennessee has … and you end up with matchups with freshmen across the net from them, experience is going to win the battle,” said LSU coach Fran Flory.
LSU senior outside hitter Madie Jones led the Tigers in the final road game of her career with 13 kills and a .303 hitting clip.
The Tigers traveled to Gainesville, Fla., on Friday, where they took on No. 16 Florida (22-4) in match that resulted in the Gators clinching the Southeastern Conference Championship.
“We knew that if we went out and tried to win, then we probably wouldn’t be successful,” Jones said. “So we went out and just tried to have fun and play well with each other and really just enjoy being a team.”
The strategy seemed to work initially, as the Tigers won the first set, and, according to Flory, could have gone into the locker room up 2-0 if it had not been for a slew of eight attacking errors that led to a 25-22 Florida victory in the second set.
“I thought we played as hard as we could possibly play,” Flory said. “I thought playing Florida toe-to-toe for two full sets was a great testament to [how hard our team plays].”
But that was all the success LSU would see against Florida, as the Gators came out of the locker room and trounced the Tigers in the third and fourth sets 25-11 and 25-13, respectively.
LSU freshman middle blocker Cati Leak continued her recent hot streak, tallying seven kills and five assists against Florida.
Leak delivered despite playing in an unfamiliar position — the usual outside hitter, sophomore Helen Boyle, was sidelined with a shoulder injury.
The losses this weekend put the Tigers at 8-11 in the SEC this season with one game remaining. Even though the season has not gone exactly as planned, Flory said she was satisfied with her team’s performance.
“As a coach, the most you can ask from a team is that they play hard for you and they stay true to what you’re trying to accomplish,” Flory said. “… The key to this team is they don’t have any quit in them. … I wouldn’t trade this team for anything.”
