Following a dominant win over Arkansas, LSU volleyball was forced to say goodbye to five of their beloved seniors. 

In a tearful celebration, teammates and fans alike paid tribute to Ansley Tullis, Bailey Ortega, Jade Demps, Madison Martin and Rumur Rouille after the Tigers last home game of the season.

While LSU has fielded a young team this year, these seniors have been the cornerstone of LSU’s success this season.

Before they are gone for good, let’s take a closer look into each of these players and what a year they have had.

Tullis is a graduate student from Slidell that played four years at Southeastern Louisiana and transferred to LSU as a defensive specialist. Unfortunately, Tullis was unable to take the court for the Tigers this season as she has been out with injury. In the meantime, Tullis has been coaching and teaching at her former high school, Pope John Paul II.

Ortega, originally hailing from Davenport, Iowa spent her undergraduate years at the University of Iowa where she tallied 2,000 career assists, and she just recently earned her 3,000th career assist in the Tigers’ game against Tennessee. Ortega is one of four active SEC players to do so.

Demps, a fifth-year senior and national champion transfer from Wisconsin, has been an absolute star on this Tiger team. Demps has been nothing but a role model for the younger players on this team and has been able to help this team gel together. 

Martin is a senior hailing from Ormand Beach, Florida and is a defensive specialist for the Tigers. In 2023, Martin earned a spot of the SEC Volleyball Community Service Team as well as a spot on the Academic Honor Roll. 

Rumur Rouille, a 6-foot-4 middle blocker for the Tigers, entered this season with 294 career blocks, with seven blocks in the NCAA tournament. While Rouille did not play a big role on the court this year, her three seasons at Long Island and two all-Northeast Conference selections have provided an immeasurable amount of worth to this young team. 

“We have a great group of seniors who are selfless, who have given a lot to this program, some of them for a short period of time, but their impact will be remembered,” head coach Tonya Johnson said. “What they brought to this team every single day was tremendous, and I’ll never forget that”  

But these Tigers’ story isn’t over just yet. They’ll head to Tuscaloosa, Alabama on Nov. 29 for the final regular season game of the season. 

When Johnson was asked how she planned to replace the production of players like Jade Demps and the leadership of Bailey Ortega, she said, “I think we signed a great freshman class who we’re excited to welcome in.”

On Nov. 13, National Signing Day, the Tigers signed three high school seniors who are soon to be Tigers. 

They are Camryn Jeffery, a right side from Columbia, South Carolina; Sanaa Donaie, a middle blocker from Baytown, Texas; and Takyla Brown, a setter from Pflugerville, Texas. 

Jeffery is leaving Columbia and is headed to the Boot. Boasting a 17-7 record at Westwood High School, including 12-0 in district play, Camryn knows what it takes to win and “will bring a whole lot of physicality and a great arm,” according to Johnson. She will be a welcome addition to the Tigers roster in the fall. 

At 6-foot-3, Donaie is “long and physical,” Johnson said. She is also a member of the USA Volleyball National Team Development Program. Graduating from Goose Creek Memorial High School, she has recorded 519 kills, 71 aces, and 215 digs on the season, according to MaxPreps stats, and will be a force to be reckoned with when she hits the floor in the fall. 

Brown is “going to be an impact player,” according to Johnson, “and her volleyball IQ is incredible.” Not only that, she is also graduating early and will be joining the Tigers during the upcoming spring semester of 2025. In her senior season, Brown recorded 121 kills, 58 aces, and 403 digs. 

“The future of LSU volleyball is bright,” Johnson said.

In a final word from Johnson to her seniors, she said, “They’ve made it an enjoyable and fun year, and they are going to do great things because they are good people. I am a firm believer in that good things happen to good people.”