Alabama
LSU
Volleyball Drops 3-0 Decision to No. 17 LSU
11/22/2009 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 22, 2009
BATON ROUGE, La. - Junior Alyssa Meuth collected a match-high 13 kills, but the volleyball team fell Sunday to 17th-ranked LSU 3-0 (25-12, 27-25, 25-19) at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. With the loss, the Crimson Tide dips to 8-21 overall and 6-13 against Southeastern Conference opponents, while the Tigers improve to 24-5 on the season and 18-2 versus league foes.
"I thought our team played with a great amount of effort today, and I am proud of them for that," said head coach Judy Green. "We unfortunately couldn't capitalize on the opportunities we had when LSU was out of system. That all comes down to execution. LSU is a good volleyball team, and I definitely think they've gotten better since the last time we saw them. I hope they have a deep run in the NCAA Tournament."
Joining Meuth with multiple kills for the Tide was senior Brooks Webster and sophomore Ashley Frazier, who added eight apiece. Junior Kayla Schmidt led Alabama in assists dishing out 27 in the match. On defense, both Webster and freshman Kelsey Anderson collected double-figure kills with 11 and 10, respectively.
Alabama and LSU traded the first eight points of the opening set before the Tigers scored 11 unanswered points to pull in front 15-4. The Tide was able to cut its deficit to nine but could not get any closer as LSU closed out the frame on a 5-1 run for the 25-12 win.
Again, the Tide and Tigers would trade points, but this time, Alabama would be the team to make the run early tallying four consecutive points behind a trio of kills and a service ace for the 6-2 advantage. The Tide jumped ahead by as many as five early on before LSU scratched its way back to take the lead at 12-11. Alabama rallied to jump back on top moments later scoring five straight, but would soon be challenged by the Tigers. The Tide was able to hold on and had an opportunity to take the second, but LSU fought off a pair of set point attempts setting itself up for the comeback. The Tigers got a kill from senior Marina Skender followed by a duo of service aces from sophomore Lauren Waclawczyk for the 27-25 victory in the second frame.
In the third, LSU led from start to finish with the exception of two ties in the beginning. The Tigers went ahead by as many as six points early on before Alabama was able to cut the LSU lead to three on three occasions, but could not get any closer in the frame. The Tide avoided the Tigers' first attempt at set point thanks to a kill from Meuth, but LSU senior Brittnee Cooper delivered a kill on the next play to give the Tigers the win.
Alabama concludes the 2009 season Friday, Nov. 27 when it travels to Starkville, Miss. to take on Mississippi State. Opening serve is slated for 7:00 p.m. (CST).
