LSU used a powerful blocking attack that out-blocked Kentucky 18-4 to help the No. 18 Tigers rally from an opening-game deficit Sunday to defeat the Wildcats 3-1 (29-31, 30-19, 30-25, 30-21) in Memorial Coliseum. UK moves to 8-2 on the year and evens its Southeastern Conference mark at 1-1 with the loss. LSU improves to 10-1 overall with a 2-0 SEC record.
The Wildcats, who were looking to post their first win over a ranked foe in 63 previous attempts dating back to 1993, were led by junior middle blocker Nicole Britenriker (Cincinnati, Ohio), who registered a match-high 23 kills ? just two put-downs shy of her career high. Britenriker recorded her third double-double of the season with 16 digs. Sophomore outside hitter Ashlee Fisher (West Bend, Wis.) and sophomore middle blocker Queen Nzenwa (Baltimore) each recorded nine kills apiece, while Nzenwa hit a squad-best .368.
Kentucky, which hit .436 in the opening frame, finished with a .186 hitting percentage. Two LSU (10-1, 2-0) players ? Marina Skender (17) and Lauren DeGirolamo (14) registered double-digit kills, and DeGirolamo posted an impressive 10 blocks. The Tigers hit .259 for the match.
Kentucky fell behind early in the first game 15-13 after a kill and a service ace by Skender on back-to-back plays. A put-down by Britenriker tied the score at 18. LSU continued to rally, going back in front 21-20 on another kill by Skender. After falling behind 25-23, the Wildcats knotted the score at 25 after another Britenriker kill. After three more knotted scores, a kill by Fisher brought the Cats to game point at 30-29 and sophomore Tess Edwards? (Ottowa, Ontario) put-down on the right side gave the Wildcats a 31-29 game-one win.
The two teams battled evenly to begin the second game with Kentucky taking an early 8-5 advantage on back-to-back attack errors by the Tigers. Four consecutive LSU kills put the Tigers on top 15-11, forcing UK head coach Craig Skinner to burn a timeout. Senior outside hitter Melissa Popp (Indianapolis, Ind.) and Britenriker posted kills on two of the next three plays to bring the Cats within three at 16-13. However, LSU continued rolling to move in front by seven, 23-16, on a kill by Melody Clark that forced another UK timeout. Three consecutive attack errors by the Wildcats allowed LSU to close out the second game at 30-19.
Kentucky led from the get-go in the third game, going up 6-3 after three straight errors and poor serving by the Tigers. After LSU cut into Kentucky?s advantage at 12-10, the Wildcats continued to control the game and went up 16-12 after back-to-back kills by Fisher. The Cats extended their lead to 20-15 on a sharp kill by Nzenwa, but after leading 20-16, the Tigers started their comeback. LSU put together a 14-4 run that included seven Kentucky attack errors and the Wildcats dropped the third game, 30-25.
LSU carried its momentum from the third game into the fourth as it took an early 9-5 advantage on a kill by Clark. Back-to-back kills by Nzenwa and freshman Heather Hausfeld (Cincinnati, Ohio) brought the Wildcats back into the match at 12-9. After the Tigers moved their lead to 15-10 and caused Kentucky to call a timeout, Nzenwa posted a kill to stop the LSU scoring streak. The Cats were only able to draw as close as three, 20-17, on a kill by Hausfeld in the final frame before eventually falling 30-21.
?We have to give a lot of credit to LSU. They took us out of our game plan and the things we wanted to do on offense,? said UK head coach Craig Skinner. ?Offensively, that took away our aggressiveness and energy and when you don?t have those three things, it?s difficult to win against a top 20 team.?
Kentucky returns to action this weekend with a league road trip to the Magnolia State. The Wildcats face Mississippi State at 8 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 22, and Ole Miss at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 24, in Oxford.
