by Matt Dunaway, Associate Sports Information Director
BATON ROUGE – Brittnee Cooper knocked 16 kills on a .542 hitting percentage to go along with five blocks as the No. 20 LSU volleyball team notched a 3-1 victory over Georgia [25-18, 25-17, 23-25, 25-23] Friday at the Maravich Center.
Sam Dabbs and Marina Skender also tallied double-doubles for the Tigers. Dabbs passed out 46 assists and added 13 digs, while Skender popped 13 kills and reeled in 16 digs.
“We didn’t have our best tonight and you have to credit Georgia,” head coach Fran Flory said. “They played very well and made plays. We didn’t have an answer for a few things they did, but you have to be excited about the way that we rebounded at the end of set four. Our seniors just decided that they were going to get it done and they did a great job down the stretch in critical situations.”
Lauren DeGirolamo turned in a complete performance with nine kills, 13 digs and four blocks. Angela Bensend chipped in eight kills and Madie Jones ripped five kills over two sets off the bench.
Sam Delahoussaye corralled 14 digs on the back row and Michele Williams recorded a match-best six blocks at the net as LSU (17-5, 11-2 SEC) limited Georgia (14-10, 5-8 SEC) to a .141 hitting percentage for the match.
The Tigers have won its last 39 SEC matches against league opponents other than Florida and Kentucky dating back to the 2004 season.
LSU sprinted out to an 8-3 lead in the first set as the defense set the tone with a pair of blocks. Bensend and Skender tacked on three kills apiece as LSU pushed its advantage to 18-8 and never looked back in a 25-18 victory. Dabbs set LSU to a .303 team hitting percentage in the frame, while Cooper and Skender combined for nine of the Tigers 15 spikes.
“Cooper’s been struggling [on offense], and [that’s] partially because we haven’t forced the ball to her as many times. When she gets enough swings, her efficiency is going to keep going up because there aren’t many people who can play above the net with her. Our focus was to try to get her a few more swings and get her in a better rhythm. Certainly, that worked tonight.”
LSU reeled off five straight points on Delahoussaye’s serve highlighted by four consecutive kills to turn a 2-1 hole into a 6-2 edge in set two. With LSU ahead 16-10, Georgia put together a 3-1 mini spurt to get back to 17-13 before the Tigers fired back with four of the next five points to put away the frame. Dabbs distributed 13 helpers to fuel LSU to a .351 hitting clip and the 25-17 win.
Georgia regrouped out of the locker room to build a 15-9 advantage to start set three as Erika Clark and Valentina Gonzalez combined for five kills. Both finished with 12 and 11 kills, respectively, to headline the Bulldogs. LSU charged back with an 11-5 run aided by four Jones spikes to even the tally at 20-20. Briana Bahr responded with four kills of her own to give Georgia a 25-23 win.
LSU committed six early attack errors in set four as Georgia crept out to a 15-9 lead. The Tigers rallied behind two Cooper kills and a pair blocks involving Williams to the tie the frame at 16-16. After three ties and two lead changes, LSU received two more Cooper spikes and a Cooper-DeGirolamo stuff to secure the 25-23 triumph.
“That fourth set was very important,” Dabbs said. “Every set they just gain more momentum, and they’re the kind of team that executes in the end. We started off really strong, but then we let up. Going into a fifth set with Georgia would have been a battle, so it was good to win the fourth set.”
LSU takes on Auburn Sunday with first serve slated for 1 p.m. The match will be televised live on Cox Sports Television and serves as Girl Scouts day. Scouts who wear their sash receive free admission.
Live video and stats for the Auburn match also are available in the Geaux Zone on LSUsports.net. Fans can follow in-match updates of the four-time defending SEC Western Division champions via www.twitter.com/lsuvolleyball.
LSU vs. Georgia
October 30, 2009
LSU Head Coach Fran Flory
On rebounding after losing the third set...
“We didn’t have our best tonight and you have to credit Georgia. They played very well and made plays. We didn’t have an answer for a few things they did, but you have to be excited about the way that we rebounded at the end of game four. Our seniors just decided that they were going to get it done and they did a great job down the stretch in critical situations.”
On Brittnee Cooper...
“Cooper’s been struggling [on offense], and [that’s] partially because we haven’t forced the ball to her as many times. When she gets enough swings, her efficiency is going to keep going up because there aren’t many people who can play above the net with her. Our focus was to try to get her a few more swings and get her in a better rhythm. Certainly, that worked tonight.”
On Marina Skender finding different ways to contribute...
“Marina didn’t really have her “A” game tonight. Marina struggled, had to manufacture [kills] and find a different type of game. She didn’t have the ability to go up and put the ball away. She had to find different ways to score and different ways to contribute. She did a really nice job of manufacturing kills for us.”
On this weekend’s opponents...
“I think these two teams are the two hottest teams in the SEC right now. Georgia’s playing great and Auburn is playing great as well. They’re making a great push at the end. Their young kids have grown up and matured. They’re playing at a different level. We’re going to have to rebound and be ready for a very tough match Sunday afternoon.”
LSU Setter Sam Dabbs
On the importance of finishing the match in four sets...
“The fourth set was very important. You don’t want to go five sets with a team like Georgia. Every set they just gain more momentum, and they’re the kind of team that executes in the end. We started off really strong, but then we let up. That fourth set was really important. Going into a fifth set with Georgia would have been a battle, so it was good to win the fourth game.
On the play of teammate Brittnee Cooper...
“We worked on getting her quicker [sets] this week. It was kind of an odd week because we only had two practices. We worked on getting her up and quicker out of my hands. We still haven’t really connected really strong on that yet, but we’re still working on it for bigger games coming up. Cooper did a nice job of coming back and putting some balls away for us.
On facing Auburn on Sunday...
“Auburn’s going to be a big match. They took Georgia to five sets, Georgia pulled it out, but Auburn’s a good team. They’re very scrappy, good at defense, and they’re the kind of team that can sneak up on you. We have to take care of business fast on them again to be successful.”
