Sept. 21, 2007
BATON ROUGE, La. – Three Tigers had double-digit kills to propel No. 22 LSU to a 3-0 victory over South Carolina, 30-19, 30-27, 30-19, in front of a record crowd of 2,308 at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center on Friday night. LSU improves to 11-1 on the year, 3-0 in Southeastern Conference action, while the Gamecocks fall to 7-5 and 0-3 in league play.
Sophomore Ivana Kujundzic and freshman Megan Laughlin led South Carolina with eight kills each. Laughlin topped the Gamecocks with her .261 hitting percentage. Junior libero Dinelia Concepcion had 18 digs as well.
The Tigers’ Lauren DeGirolamo led all hitters with 15 kills on a .542 hitting percentage. Marina Skender had a double-double with 10 kills and 12 digs, while setter Maggie Lonergan contributed 13 digs and 42 assists. Brittnee Cooper hit .421 and added 11 kills and four blocks.
In game one, the Bayou Bengals took control early, running out to a 9-3 lead before the Gamecocks would call time out to try to halt the momentum. That didn’t stop the Tigers, who stretched the lead to 12-4 before South Carolina would go on a small run. A service error by LSU along with a kill from Kujundzic brought the Gamecocks back to 12-7. However, that run would be short-lived, as the Tigers ran off three straight points to answer. Neither team would make another run until the end of the frame, when the Tigers closed out the 30-19 win on a pair of kills by Skender and a Gamecock attack error. Carolina hit a dismal .075 in the frame, while the host Tigers had a .341 average.
Thomas got her squad off to a good start in game two, as the Gamecocks ran off three straight points to start the frame. South Carolina once again stretched the lead out to three before LSU would force the visitors to a timeout after taking a brief 21-20 advantage. Laughlin had a big solo block to help put the Garnet up by one, 22-21. A handling error by the Tigers put USC up by two, but LSU would come back, getting a break at 26-25 when the Gamecocks did not recognize a free ball. A solo block by Cooper gave the Tigers the advantage they needed. The last of 11 attack errors in the frame by Carolina handed the game to LSU, 30-27.
Game three was tied 8-8 when the Tigers took control. A Cooper kill put LSU on top for good, with two straight service aces by reigning SEC Offensive Player of the Week Kyna Washington pushed the Purple and Gold lead to 14-9. LSU ended the frame with kills from Angela Bensend and DeGiraolamo.
The Tigers hit .301 in the match, compared to just .103 for the Gamecocks. LSU also had more blocks, digs and assists.
The Gamecocks take on Mississippi on Sunday afternoon at the Gillom Sports Center. Match start time is set for 1:30 p.m. CDT.
