The LSU volleyball team’s hard work finally paid off.
LSU competed in the UCF Classic in Orlando, Florida against Seattle, UCF and Florida Atlantic at the Venue on Friday and Saturday and won all three matches this weekend after a two-tournament losing streak to begin the season.
Junior middle blocker Khourtni Fears gave an impressive performance with 10 kills and a .588 hitting percentage to dominate LSU’s first match against Seattle on Friday. Fears was named the tournament’s MVP at the end of the weekend.
The scores against Seattle were 25-19, 25-22, 23-25 and 25-18.
In the first set, Seattle closed the score, 18-19, but LSU accomplished a 6-1 run to win the first set, 25-19.
The Redhawks were ready to fight back as the score tied eight times, but the Tigers finally grabbed the lead with a 10-2 run after three lead changes. LSU took the second set with a score of 25-22.
After losing the third set, 23-25, LSU trailed behind 7-2 in the beginning of the fourth set. Ultimately, LSU came back to win the fourth and final set, 25-18.
In the second match of the day, the Tigers defeated UCF in five sets, 22-25, 25-19, 25-23, 22-25, 15-5.
“I am super proud of the fight that we showed today,” LSU coach Fran Flory said in a press release on Friday. “We were finally able to get our offense going in multiple positions, which is great to see … Ultimately, our serving was the determining factor and that too was exciting to see.”
The Knights took the first set, 25-22, but LSU captured the second set, 25-19, to tie the match with outside hitter Gina Tillis leading the Tigers with five kills.
With Tillis leading in kills, LSU was able to take the third set, too, with a close score of 25-23.
LSU defeated UCF and won the match with a final score of 15-5.
The Tigers looked to gain a win against Florida Atlantic on the final day of the UCF Tournament.
LSU continued its hot streak and pushed its win streak to three matches in a 25-18, 21-25, 25-18, 25-19 win over Florida Atlantic to finish as tournament champions of the UCF Classic Saturday afternoon at the Venue.
“This was a really good weekend for us,” Flory said. “We won three matches but also developed as a team. We grew up quite a bit and began to understand the level of play we are capable of.”
The Tigers took the first set, 25-18, but with 12 errors in the second set, LSU allowed the Owls a 13-3 run to win, 25-21.
LSU fought hard in the third set with six kills and four digs from Tillis. The squad took the third set, 25-18.
The fourth set was close. FAU had seven errors but were able to get close with a score of 13-12. In the end, theTigers drove the tournament home, winning their final match, 25-19 to become UCF champions.
“I am proud of their effort and excited to get back into the gym and train this week,” Flory said.
