by Matt Dunaway, Associate Sports Information Director
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Sam Dabbs, Lauren DeGirolamo and Marina Skender compiled double-doubles to put the No. 20 LSU volleyball team back on the winning track en route to a hard-fought 3-1 victory over Tennessee [25-22, 20-25, 27-25, 27-25] Monday at Thompson-Boiling Arena.
With the win, LSU (16-5, 10-2 SEC) joins Florida in a second place tie in the overall SEC standings and pulls within a half-match of first-place Kentucky. The win also snapped Tennessee’s eight-match home winning streak dating back to November 2008.
Dabbs distributed 53 assists and corralled 11 digs, while Skender cranked 18 kills to go along with 15 digs for her team-leading eighth double-double of the season.
DeGirolamo ripped a season-best 12 kills on a .345 hitting percentage. She also matched a career-high with 16 digs and notched five blocks. It was DeGirolamo’s first double-double since November 2007.
Brittnee Cooper slapped 11 kills and recorded nine blocks. Angela Bensend and Michele Williams chipped in eight kills apiece for the Tigers. Williams also totaled six blocks as LSU earned a 16.0-7.5 edge in the blocking battle.
“Lauren put together her most complete match in all six rotations of the season,” head coach Fran Flory said. “She kept us in plays, made huge digs and served well. She was the stabilizing force for us and stepped into that role nicely tonight.”
Sam Delahoussaye equaled a career-best with 17 digs, while Lauren Waclawczyk also secured 16 digs and distributed a career-best seven assists to anchor LSU’s back row.
LSU charged back from a 20-16 hole in the fourth set after stringing together an efficient 7-3 run to even the score at 23-23. Dabbs set four different players to kills during the spurt, while Skender popped a pair of spikes and added a block. Skender tacked on two more kills and a Williams spike put the Tigers ahead at 26-25 before a Tennessee attack error secured the 27-25 triumph.
“Marina didn’t have her best night offensively and couldn’t get comfortable for most of the match in any phase of her game,” head coach Fran Flory said. “We told her [late in the fourth set] to be aggressive and that portion of her game carried us. She also came through with huge blocks for our team.”
Nikki Fowler paced Tennessee (15-6, 8-3 SEC) with 19 kills and 22 digs, while Kayla Jeter tacked on 16 kills on a .394 hitting clip. Emily Steinbeck passed out 22 assists in addition to 10 digs for the Lady Vols.
Ahead 7-6, LSU took control of the opening set with four consecutive points highlighted by three straight blocks, all involving Cooper, to push the lead to 11-6. DeGirolamo cranked five kills in the frame before Tennessee got back to 23-22 after back-to-back Fowler spikes. After a LSU timeout, Cooper knocked a kill coupled with a Lady Vols attack error to give LSU the 25-22 win.
The two teams split the first 16 points of set two before the Lady Vols notched 12 of the next 17 points to build a 20-13 advantage. During the run, Tennessee forced LSU into five hitting miscues. The Tigers fired off a 6-2 spurt to pull within 22-19, but Tennessee regrouped to salt away the frame aided by a pair of Fowler spikes, 25-20. Fowler and Jeter combined for 11 of UT’s 18 kills in the set.
The pivotal third frame featured 11 ties and five lead changes as the Tigers continued its sharp blocking to surge ahead 20-16. Tennessee fought off a trio of set points to draw even at 24-24. DeGirolamo and Williams provided sideout spikes coupled with a Williams and Bensend block on Fowler to give LSU the critical 27-25 win.
LSU returns home Friday to square off against Georgia. The Tigers swept the Bulldogs in Athens earlier this season. First serve is slated for 7 p.m. at the Maravich Center. Live video and stats are 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.
