The LSU volleyball team played 12 five-game matches entering the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday in Austin, Texas. So it was only fitting that the Tigers’ first-round match against New Mexico State went all five games, and like they had done eight times during the regular season, the Tigers won the final game of a five-game match. But Friday’s upset victory against the No. 14 Aggies (26-6) was even sweeter because of the history that the win rewrote. LSU’s win was the program’s first NCAA Tournament win since beating Texas Tech in the first round of the 1992 Tournament. Both LSU and New Mexico State had failed to advance past the first round in the 2006 Tournament, and the Tigers also lost in the first round in 2005. Although the Tigers (25-8, 15-5) dropped their second-round match to No. 3 Texas on Saturday, LSU coach Fran Flory said Friday’s win was a step in the right direction. “I couldn’t be more proud of this team and the effort they showed this weekend,” Flory said. “Friday was a gutsy performance for our team.” This season marked LSU’s third-straight NCAA Tournament appearance and third-straight Southeastern Conference Western Division title. Prior to the start of the season, the Tigers were picked to finish second in the SEC West behind Alabama, which ended the season No. 3 in the division. After falling behind New Mexico State, 2-1, LSU rallied to win. The fourth game of the match was especially tough for the Aggies. In that game, New Mexico State had 15 kills but 14 attack errors for a hitting percentage of .022. The Aggies out-killed the Tigers in the match, 66-59, and also out-digged LSU, 88-71. “We were really pumped about the win,” said LSU junior outside hitter Kyna Washington. “It was a milestone. I kept thinking, ‘We can do this. We can do this.’ It was exciting.” Freshman outside hitter Angela Bendsend tied a career-high with 16 kills against the Aggies. It was a quick turnaround after LSU’s Friday night victory as they faced nationally-ranked Texas on Saturday. Texas was the top seed in the Austin, Texas regional. The Longhorns’ experience and balance on offense was too much for the Tigers to handle, and Texas swept LSU in three games. “Saturday’s match was a bunch of physical seniors playing against a bunch of not-so-physical young kids,” Flory said. “Their power and physicality overcame us.” Texas had six players with a hitting percentage of .300 or higher against LSU. Longhorns coach Jerritt Elliott said LSU entered Saturday’s match “extremely focused and motivated.” “Everybody works the whole year long to get to this point and play in these kind of matches. So if a team didn’t show up, it would be pretty disappointing,” Elliott said in a news release. LSU played at a disadvantage for most of the weekend because of an injury to sophomore middle blocker Lauren DeGirolamo. DeGirolamo, who led the team in hitting percentage and is No. 2 in kills, injured her foot in LSU’s match against Tulane on Nov. 24. She attempted to play in both NCAA Tournament matches but was ineffective for the most part, tallying only seven kills. Flory said DeGirolamo has not officially been diagnosed yet, but signs point to the injury being a stress fracture. “It could be a stress fracture that is about to break,” she said. “She’s been to three doctors now, and they can’t really determine what it is.”
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