Mississippi State
LSU
Volleyball Bulldogs Bow To LSU In Four Sets
October 17, 2008 | Volleyball
? Official Statistics
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Defending SEC Western Division champion Louisiana State rallied for a 26-24 win in a closely-contested pivotal third set Friday night and went on to top Mississippi State (6-13, 1-7 SEC) 3-1 at the Newell-Grissom Building. The Tigers (10-6, 5-4 SEC) claimed the match 25-18, 20-25, 26-24, 25-15 to hand LSU coach Fran Flory her 300th career coaching win. The loss overshadowed a strong performance by Bulldog junior outside Ioana Demian, who finished with a match-high 16 kills and added 10 digs for her team-leading fifth double-double of the season. Brittney Johnson tallied 12 kills on a .579 hitting night to lead the Tigers. Brittnee Cooper had 10 kills and four blocks. "I liked our intensity and the way we battled a very talented and well-coached LSU team tonight," said Tina Seals. "We came so close but just couldn't find a way to get over the hump." After LSU claimed the opening set 25-18, the Bulldogs, sparked by a six-kill performance by Demian, knotted the match with an impressive 25-20 decision in set number two. The Baia Mare, Romania product made good on six of her eight attack attempts in the stanza as State erased an 18-15 deficit and out-pointed the Tigers 10-2 down the stretch. MSU hit at a match-best .303 percentage and committed but four hitting errors in the set. That momentum stayed with the Bulldogs for much of the third set, with a kill by Demian and an LSU attack error putting State at set point, 24-22. But the Tigers reeled off four straight points, two on Bulldog hitting errors and two on kills by Johnson, to take a 2-1 advantage in the match with a 26-24 win in the third set. "That was a tough set to lose," said Seals. "We put ourselves in a position to take the lead in the match, but weren't able to keep our momentum going." Freshmen Mandy Mellencamp and Faith Steinwedell had eight kills each and Caitlin Rance added a personal-best seven. MSU held a 56-53 edge in digs, with Kayla Woodard leading the squad with 17 ahead of Steinwedell with 15 and Demian with 10. State struggled at service, yielding 13 costly points on service errors. State concludes its weekend schedule Sunday with a 1 p.m. match against Georgia (11-9, 4-5 SEC) that will be regionally televised by FOX Sports Net South. The match is part of MSU's Breast Cancer Awareness Month activities, with limited edition T-shirts commemorating the event to be distributed to fans at the Newell-Grissom Building. Georgia blanked Alabama 3-0 Friday night in Tuscaloosa (25-18, 25-22, 25-17).
? Official Statistics (PDF)
