The Lady Tigers volleyball team closed out Southeastern Conference play this weekend with two big wins over the University of Arkansas and Ole Miss.
The Tigers faced Arkansas on Friday night, going into the match one win away from claiming a spot in the SEC Tournament next weekend. LSU qualified for the tournament when it took the match in four games with scores of 39-37, 28-30, 30-27 and 30-17. The win was the first time the Tigers have defeated Arkansas in four years and only the second time in school history.
“I think this was a really big win for us,” said coach Fran Flory in press release. “The fact that we persevered in game one was a testament to this team. We won the true battles and won all the big points.”
The victory was led by senior outside hitter Regan Hood with 16 kills and a career-best five service aces, seven digs and four blocks in the match. Junior middle blocker Ivana Kuzmic reached an important mark in her career when she posted her 500th career block. Kuzmic is the fourth player to reach 500 blocks.
Kuzmic also had 11 kills in the match.
Other accomplishments in the match include junior outside hitter Jelena Mijatovic’s continuation of her 10-game streak with a service ace. She had five on the night and leads the SEC in service aces per game. She is ranked fourth in the NCAA.
In its last SEC match of the season, the Tigers traveled to Ole Miss Sunday. The Rebels beat LSU earlier in the season at home, but the team came out strong, sweeping Ole Miss in three games with scores of 30-21, 30-17 and 30-26.
“This was a good way for us to close out the SEC regular season,” Flory said in a press release. “Now we will have to go back and prepare for the tournament next weekend.”
The wins this weekend improve the Tiger’s record to 16-10 overall and 8-8 in league play. LSU ended SEC play in third place in the SEC Western Division.
The team will enter the SEC Tournament as the sixth seed. LSU faces third-seeded Arkansas on Friday night for its first game of the three-day tournament in Gainesville, Fla.