LSU volleyball’s fifth consecutive win against in-state foe Southeastern Louisiana was nothing short of exciting for the crowd at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center on Sunday.
The Tigers hosted SLU at home after coming off of an incredible four win streak on the road, seeking to maintain their focus and add another tally to the win column.
On the other hand, the Lions traveled to Baton Rouge off of two straight losses in hopes to not let that number advance to three.
Set one began tense as both teams scored back to back points effortlessly.
SLU called its first timeout of the set when the Tigers took the lead 19-13 after the media timeout. Senior outside hitter Nia Washington landed a brutal kill to force the second timeout for the Lions, who were trailing 22-17.
SLU couldn’t hold on as the Tigers took the set 25-18. Junior outside hitter Jurnee Robinson totaled seven kills in the first set alone for a .778 hitting percentage.
Set two was all LSU as the Lions defense just couldn’t keep up with the Tigers’ vicious attacks. Despite SLU using both of its timeouts in the set in an effort to slow LSU down, the Tigers took it 25-17.
LSU hit .429 in the set with seven players contributing to the kill count. Tireh Smith, Robinson and Washington all recorded three kills each.
Behind the scenes, the Tigers have been putting in work that’s been displayed throughout their recent matchups. Head coach Tonya Johnson said that she has trained her team to consistently attack from the first whistle up until to the last.
“We’ve been working on trying to come out and have faster starts,” Johnson said. “I felt like we did that in sets one and two.”
Set three was a different story.
For the Lions, giving up the third set without a fight wasn’t an option. This was a crucial mid-season match for them, and they had nothing to lose down 0-2 on the road.
The Tigers led it 12-6 in the third set when the Lions called for their first timeout. Then, SLU regained composure to take an 18-15 lead, forcing LSU to use both of its timeouts.
Johnson knew she needed to help regain momentum for her team, and that’s exactly what she reminded them during their last timeout of the set.
“We had a little lull in set three where I thought we got really sloppy and needed to better the ball,” Johnson said. “We just talked about standing poised and not letting the previous play affect the next play.”
The Tigers rallied to get back in the set and fought for extra points to take a 25-24 lead. It was at this point that the crowd anxiously stood on its feet, cheering in hopes of an LSU comeback.
The Lions called a last-minute timeout, desperate to take this set from the home team.
Johnson didn’t let this get in her players’ heads. Again, she reminded them to remain confident in themselves and keep their composure.
The Tigers did just that as Smith landed the final blow of the night, and the PMAC roared as LSU took the set 26-24.
This win marked LSU volleyball’s fifth sweep of the season and its second at home. Overall, the Tigers offense hit a season-high of .350 with 48 kills on the day.
Robinson and Washington once again put on a show for the Tigers as a dominant outside hitter duo. Robinson led the Tigers’ attack with 17 kills while Washington tallied nine kills and three aces.
Smith had a huge night, contributing eight kills to the offense. Middle blocker Jessica Jones had a career high .600 attack, adding on six kills.
Defense chipped in with 43 digs, freshman libero Laurel Cassidy contributing nine of them. LSU held the Lions offense at a .194 hitting percentage — its fourth straight opponent held under the .200 attack mark.
With only two more matches ahead of conference play at the end of the month, this fiery LSU team is looking to shut down any previous doubts about its playing abilities.
Even with Sunday’s win, Johnson still sees areas of improvement for her team, and their schedule is only going to get tougher.
Johnson would like her team to work on their serving and apply more pressure to rattle their opponents’ system of attack. In addition, she also said it’s crucial for them to slow the game down in order to effectively control their side of the net from an offensive standpoint.
“I definitely think there’s some things that we can continue to work on and get better at — and we will,” Johnson said. “I think that’s a part of the maturing process for this team. We’ll continue to progress and see the strides that we make.”
