by Matt Dunaway, Associate Sports Information Director
BATON ROUGE -- Sam Dabbs dished out 38 assists to fuel the No. 20 LSU volleyball team to a .310 hitting percentage and an impressive 3-0 sweep of Auburn [25-15, 25-12, 25-20] Sunday in-front of 922 fans at the Maravich Center.
LSU (18-5, 12-2 SEC) has won 11 of its last 12 matches and remained in a second place tie with Florida in the overall SEC standings. The Tigers also stayed a half-match back of Kentucky for the top spot. Both Kentucky and Florida posted 3-0 wins on Sunday.
LSU extended its winning streak to 26 consecutive matches over SEC Western Division opponents and pushed its lead to 5.5 matches over Auburn (14-10, 6-7 SEC) in the division race. The Tigers trimmed their magic number down to one to secure the program’s fifth straight SEC West title.
Dabbs set a balanced attack as a quintet of Tigers powered home five or more kills. It marked the 10th time that LSU has hit over .300 as a team this season. Brittnee Cooper dominated the front row and powered home a match-high 15 kills on a crisp .667 hitting percentage. She also tacked on a match-best six blocks.
“Brittnee is really good, but we have to set the right tempo to have her best effort,” head coach Fran Flory said. “Our ball control in the last few matches wasn’t good enough to create [opportunities] for her. We worked really hard this week on those kinds of issues. It paid off this weekend. Hopefully, we can maintain for a little longer and not have that lapse we’ve had.”
Michele Williams slapped seven kills and added three blocks, while Marina Skender knocked six kills and reeled in 10 digs. The 10 digs allowed Skender to pass Detra Brown [1983-86] for seventh place on the program’s career list. Lauren DeGirolamo popped six kills to go along with five digs and four blocks.
Angela Bensend chipped in five kills on a .300 hitting clip and Madie Jones recorded three kills on six swings off the bench. Lauren Waclawczyk corralled 14 digs on the back row as LSU turned in a season-best 80 percent [39-for-49] sideout efficiency and limited Auburn to paltry .053 hitting percentage.
“It was very efficient. We came out Friday night, and we didn’t play very strong against Georgia,” Dabbs said. “We knew today we’d have to come out stronger and play better with ball control. We also played our game and were level the entire time.”
LSU came out firing on all cylinders as Dabbs set the Tigers to a match-best .357 hitting percentage in the opening set. Ahead 9-8, LSU used a 16-7 finishing kick to cruise to a 25-15 win. The run was sparked by three Cooper kills and a trio of blocks.
LSU jumped out to early 7-1 advantage in set two. Auburn got back to 8-5 before LSU reeled off eight of the next nine points to surge ahead 16-6 and never looked back in the 25-12 triumph. Cooper connected for kills on all five of her attempts, while Waclawczyk racked up seven digs during the frame.
LSU continued its strong defensive play and forced Auburn into four attack errors to build a 16-9 lead in the third set. Auburn crept back to 22-19 before Cooper and Skender struck for kills coupled with another Auburn hitting error to secure the 25-20 win.
LSU embarks on a four-match road swing Friday at Ole Miss. First serve scheduled for 7 p.m. with live stats available in the Geaux Zone on LSUsports.net. Fans also can follow in-match updates of the four-time defending SEC Western Division champions via www.twitter.com/lsuvolleyball.
LSU vs. Auburn
Nov. 1, 2009
LSU HEAD COACH FRAN FLORY
On returning to play after a tough Georgia match ...
“Our team responded and rebounded from Friday night very well. I was proud of the leadership they showed in terms of staying focused throughout, and not thinking it was a give-me match. Auburn is a good team and we have a lot of respect for them. We knew we had to play well to be successful.”
On Brittnee Cooper returning to her form on offense ...
“Brittnee is really good, but we have to set the right tempo to have her best effort. Our ball control in the last few matches wasn’t good enough to create [opportunities] for her. We worked really hard this week on those kinds of issues. It paid off this weekend. Hopefully, we can maintain for a little longer and not have that lapse we’ve had.”
On returning to a stretch on the road ...
“Ole miss is a tough, tough place to play. It’s a small gym, it gets really loud and they will pack the place. We beat them fairly handily here, so we are going to have to do a good job on the road. They’re going to be much better. We will have to be balanced and efficient. We have a long run coming up where we are going to have to be successful on the road. I like our team on the road. We do a good job of managing, and our seniors are keeping everyone focused, so we’ll be ready.”
LSU PLAYER QUOTES
On a three-set victory ...
“It was very efficient. We came out Friday night, and we didn’t play very strong against Georgia. We knew today we’d have to come out stronger and play better with ball control. We also played our game and were level the entire time.”
On getting Cooper back on track after her injury ...
“It’s been hard for her being thrown her out of her rhythm. This weekend was really important for her because she could get up, swing a lot and didn’t have to work too hard to make a good play.”
On keeping track with Kentucky and Florida in the overall SEC race ...
“It is very important because we are lost two and Kentucky has only lost one. We are still fighting for the SEC title. These next matches coming up are very important for us.”
On playing Ole Miss and Arkansas on the road ...
“It is going to be very tough. Playing teams at [their] home is not easy. Those two teams are good, and they can sneak up on you. Playing at their place is going to be difficult for us on the road two weeks in a row, but then we get to come home for senior night. We are just going to stay level-headed, and play our game the whole time even on the road.”
