BATON ROUGE – Malorie Pardo handed out a match-high 40 assists and fueled the LSU volleyball team to a .321 hitting percentage as the Tigers blasted Arkansas [25-13, 25-18, 25-20] in the regular season finale for both teams Saturday at the Maravich Center.
With the victory, LSU (19-11, 12-8 SEC) claimed its seventh straight SEC Western Division title outright. Lauren Waclawczyk and Michele Williams were honored prior to the match. The duo joined LSU’s 1,000 career digs and kills club, respectively, earlier in the season.
“We did not want to share the SEC West, and I can’t be any prouder of how our kids responded to the challenge of today,” head coach Fran Flory said. “We also wanted to send out Lauren [Waclawczyk] and Michele [Williams] in a special way during their last home match. I’m really proud of our total team performance. Those two have done so much for our program. They have done any and everything we have asked in every capacity. They are like my daughters so it was hard to end with them on the court. There’s no doubt in my mind that they will go forward and be very successful in whatever they decide to do. They will carry on the legacy of LSU volleyball in the right way.”
Madie Jones returned to the starting lineup and pounded home a match-high 12 kills. Williams along with Nicole Willis cranked 11 kills apiece. Both players attacked at over a .400 hitting clip.
Helen Boyle and Desiree Elliott also chipped in six kills each, while Elliott provided a match-best five blocks for the Tigers.
LSU’s back row converted on 38-of-51 sideout attempts for a sparkling 71 percent efficiency. Meghan Mannari corralled a match-best 13 digs and finished with 518 scoops for the season to secure the third-highest single-season total in program history. Waclawczyk also reeled in 10 digs for the Tigers.
Arkansas was limited to 36 kills on a .196 team hitting. Jasmine Norton posted a team-high 12 kills and added eight digs. LSU’s defense bottled up Kelli Stipanovich to zero kills on six swings during two sets of action. On the back row, Christa Alvarez notched a team-best 13 digs.
“I was surprised Kelli Stipanovich did not play better,” Flory said. “I felt bad for a senior playing in her last match, you want them to have a little peace and a memory that is positive and not a negative ending. I think she is a great person, a great player and she has meant a lot to their program. I think our gameplan did work. It is fortunate that we were able to come out, execute it and take a key player out of the match for them.”
LSU was clicking on all cylinders during the first set. The Tigers buried 17 kills and tallied a match-high .455 hitting ratio. Ahead 17-11, LSU ripped off seven of the final nine points to roll to a 25-13 triumph. Willis cranked five kills on five swings and tacked on two blocks.
The Tigers carried that momentum into set two and jumped out to a 15-9 advantage. LSU continued to push points and expanded its lead to 22-13 on a Willis spike. The Razorbacks pulled back to 22-17, but a Jones-Williams block put the finished touches on a 25-18 win.
Arkansas controlled the tempo for most of the third stanza and grabbed a 13-9 edge as Norton heated up for a trio of kills during the early stages. LSU rallied and caught the Razorbacks at 17-17 on a Sam Delahoussaye ace. Still even at 19-19, the Tigers rode Jones’ right-arm to three straight kills coupled with a Mannari ace to surge ahead 23-19. LSU finished off the sweep by a 25-20 margin.
“It was one of our main goals to win the SEC West championship,” Waclawczyk said. “It felt so good to be on the court with these girls tonight. They played their hearts out for Michele (Williams) and I for our last home game. We were so composed throughout the whole thing. We were not stressed because in the end we knew we were the better team, and we played like it.”
The NCAA Selection Show is slated for Sunday at 5 p.m. and will be televised by ESPNU. LSU will hope to earn an at-large bid for its seventh consecutive NCAA appearance.