On the brink of its third consecutive loss, the LSU volleyball team pulled off an unlikely comeback against Texas A&M Wednesday night.
The Tigers were down two sets on the road to the reigning Southeastern Conference Western Division champions. It wasn’t a perfect situation for LSU coach Fran Flory and her team, but the Tigers never relinquished hope on their way to a five-set victory (20-25, 16-25, 25-19, 25-18, 15-10).
“This team has a lot of ability and a lot of heart,” Flory said. “They’re not going to quit, they’re not going to walk off the court not giving their best effort. We’re a bunch of really good athletes and they’re here in our program because we trust that.”
The come-from-behind win is the third time this season the Tigers have won after being down two sets in the match.
Flory credited her team’s slow start to inexperience on the court and playing with a fear of making errors — something she said can’t happen when playing a team like Texas A&M on its own court.
“We wouldn’t risk, we wouldn’t put ourselves out there — we were trying to be safe,” Flory said. “The challenge between two and three is you can’t be afraid, you have to go, you have to get on the line and play the best you can.”
Junior setter Malorie Pardo recorded 46 assists and 10 digs during the LSU win. Pardo said the biggest difference between the second and third sets was the Tigers’ passion and desire for the game.
According to the team’s lone senior middle blocker Desiree Elliott, the change in mindset stemmed from LSU’s locker room conversation in which the team discussed what it meant to wear LSU on their chests.
“Once we figured out how to play for each other and what it means to have LSU on our jersey and learn how to turn it around on the court, we just figured it out and it felt really good,” Elliott said. “Coming off of a couple losses, we stuck together and we pulled through it for the Tigers.”
The win marked Flory’s 400th career win including head coaching stints at Kentucky and Southeastern Louisiana. Flory said she didn’t realize she had surpassed the milestone on Wednesday night, but gave her players and coaching staff all the praise.
“The bottom line is, I want our kids to succeed,” Flory said. “It’s never been about me and it’s never going to be about me. I’m proud of our kids and I’m proud of our staff and I’m looking forward to the next opportunity to get the next win.”