Nov. 24, 2013
| Highlights |
COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina volleyball team fought back and forth with LSU on Senior Day Sunday but came up short in each set, as the Tigers won in three sets by the scores of 25-19, 25-21 and 25-17 at the Volleyball Competition Facility.
With the loss, South Carolina drops to 12-18 on the season and 3-14 in the SEC. LSU is now 17-11 overall and 7-9 in league play.
In their final home match in Garnet and Black, seniors Juliette Thévenin and Lindsey Craft both made solid contributions for the Gamecocks. Thévenin tallied seven kills and seven digs, coming up one dig shy of 1,000 for her career. If she records a dig in the season finale on Wednesday at Texas A&M, she would become just the second Gamecock of record to have more than 1,000 kills and a 1,000 digs in a career. Craft finished the afternoon with four digs, two assists and a pair of service aces.
For the second-straight match, freshman Dessaa Legros led the Gamecocks offensively as she recorded 11 kills and added three digs. Sophomore Sarah Blomgren chipped in seven kills while hitting .333 and three block assists, while sophomore Elizabeth Johnbull contributed six kills (.500) and two block assists. Freshman setter Helen Récaborde was two digs shy of a double-double as she had 13 assists and eight digs. Freshman libero Gabrielle Rubeis chipped in a team-high 10 digs and five assists.
LSU out-hit the Gamecocks .305-.198, with sophomore outside hitter Cati Leak leading the way with 13 kills while hitting .478 and seven digs. Senior middle blocker Desiree Elliott posted 11 kills and four blocks, while freshman middle Briana Holman had seven kills and three block solos. LSU setter Malorie Pardo distributed 32 assists and added four digs and three kills, and outside hitter Katie Lindelow had 11 digs and four kills.
South Carolina led 8-7 early in the first set after a LSU attack error, but the Tigers went on a 7-2 run to build a 14-10 lead. The Gamecocks battled back to tie the match at 15-15 on a kill by Blomgren and then took the lead on the next rally with a kill by Johnbull. However, the Tigers outscored South Carolina 10-3 down the stretch to win 25-19.
The Gamecocks controlled the momentum early in the second set as they built a 12-8 lead. The Tigers answered with back-to-back kills by Leak and consecutive service aces to tie the match at 12-12. The teams then played through five ties and three lead changes before LSU took the lead for good at 18-17 on a kill by Helen Boyle on its way to a 25-21 win.
Another strong start had South Carolina leading 13-10 in the third set after a kill by freshman Jacqy Angermiller, but the Tigers responded with an 11-1 run to go back in front on the way to a 25-17 victory to clinch the match.
South Carolina will close out the regular season on Wednesday at Texas A&M. First serve is set for 5 p.m. ET in College Station, Texas. The Gamecocks defeated the Aggies 3-1 in the teams’ first matchup this season on Oct. 6.
