The LSU volleyball team was unable to take down a top-10 foe with a 2-1 set lead for the second weekend in a row, as the Tigers fell to No. 6 Nebraska, 3-2 (25-22, 16-25, 25-21, 15-25, 8-15).The Tigers (2-2) hit .150 overall as a team with seven blocks, while Nebraska hit .265 to go along with 73 digs and 17.5 blocks.”We gained confidence from last weekend, but this weekend was a letdown,” said LSU volleyball coach Fran Flory. “You have to give credit to the teams on the other side of the net because … Nebraska’s defense kept them in system, and their setter won them the match.”Senior middle blocker Brittnee Cooper led the Tigers with 20 kills on a .581 hitting percentage. She also had three block assists to lead the team.”Cooper, we feel like, can take over a match,” Flory said.The Tigers fell behind early in the first set, 7-3, but roared back to get within one point multiple times before finally tying the score at 13. LSU would eventually control the rest of the set before taking it, 25-22.LSU senior setter Sam Dabbs set the pace for the offense with 13 assists, while seven Tigers recorded at least one kill in the set.The purple and gold got out to a 6-0 lead in the second set but allowed the Cornhuskers to fight back into the match to tie the score at seven.In the third set, neither team took larger than a two-point lead until a Dabbs kill, ace and assist with the score tied at 20 gave the Tigers a three-point lead. LSU would end up taking the set, 25-21.Nebraska went out and dominated the final two sets, including hitting .600 as a team in the final set.”I thought that we would have a little better performance today, and I was disappointed in how we approached pressure situations,” Flory said.
SIDE OUT
Senior outside hitter Marina Skender reached a new career plateau during the match for the Tigers with 1,000 career digs and kills. She is the fifth Tiger to reach that mark.
 
—-Contact Andy Schwehm at [email protected]