After losing to No. 3 UCLA for the fifth straight time in the postseason, it seemed like the Tigers’ championship hopes were shaky. Pair that with the fact that No. 2 TCU was its next opponent, and it seemed that LSU’s tournament run was fixing to come to an abrupt end.
TCU had been 2-0 on the year in matchups against the Tigers. In fact, the Horned Frogs had lost just three matches total before entering the NCAA tournament, to No. 1 USC and No. 5 Florida State (twice).
The Tigers on the other hand had a combined record of 0-10 against the likes of USC, UCLA, TCU and Florida State entering their elimination match, struggling to hold their own against the nation’s elite despite being consistent against the rest of the country.
But something was different today. Despite losing their last three matches against the aforementioned elite by a combined score of 12-1, they were not going away just yet.
After a slow start in which TCU claimed all-but-one first set, the Tigers rallied in the second, sending four courts to a third set and only surrendering a single point.
Kelli Greene-Agnew and Kylie Deberg held off a late TCU comeback in the third to tie the match at 1-1 before TCU aptly responded with a victory of their own on Court 4. The Tigers no longer had breathing room, needing to win both remaining matches on Courts 3 and 5.
Fortunately for the Tigers, Holly Carlton and Reilly Allred provided temporary relief for Tiger fans everywhere, jumping out to a quick third-set lead before effectively finishing their opponents off 15-10.
It would all come down to Court 5 once again, and boy, was it close or what?
The set would tie multiple times down the stretch, with each duo failing to score multiple points in a row from 14-14 to 16-16. The Tigers would get their chance though, taking a 17-16 lead and putting themselves in another position to clinch.
And with TCU sending the ball out of bounds after a brilliant save by Ashlyn Rasnick-Pope, they would take advantage, securing LSU’s third top-five victory of the season and finally breaking the losing streak against USC, UCLA, Florida State and TCU.
They will take on the winner of USC and Florida State, who will face off Saturday morning.
