LSU volleyball was swept 25-27, 21-25, 18-25 by No. 2 Texas on Sunday afternoon to conclude its weekend of matchups against top-10 ranked programs.
This home battle against the Longhorns was significant for a number of reasons. The last time LSU defeated Texas was in 1991, making it now a 15-match losing streak against the Longhorns.
On a larger scale, Texas remained one of two undefeated teams left in NCAA Division I volleyball heading into Baton Rouge — the other undefeated team being the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
For Tigers’ head coach Tonya Johnson, this match was a chance to reunite with her former team and boss, Jerritt Elliott. Johnson knew Elliott would do what he does best while preparing for the matchup, and that’s exactly what Tiger and Longhorn fans watched unfold on the court.
This sweep marked the third-straight loss for the Tigers and the 11th loss of the season. LSU falls to 1-6 against ranked opponents, 3-7 in conference play and 10-11 overall.
Despite the Tigers’ defeat, the team was able to rally up the crowd at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. LSU fought hard to pull off a set win, but ultimately lost the battle when it came down to the final stretch.
“I think there were some really good things tonight against the very physical team. Texas is a very good team,” Johnson said. “I like the way we played the first two sets and wish we could have maintained that throughout the third.”
The Tigers began the match with an immense amount of fire. After every Longhorn point on the scoreboard at the PMAC, LSU consistently retaliated to take an early 11-9 lead in the first set.
Big-time performances from both LSU outside hitters Jurnee Robinson and Nia Washington took place early on. Concluding the match, Washington led the Tigers’ offense with a season-high 18 kills and Robinson followed right behind with 10 kills and a team-high eight digs.
The Longhorns took back the lead from the Tigers after a behind-the-back kill from Texas setter Ella Swindle gave the team a 15-14 advantage heading into the official media timeout. It wasn’t long after when LSU forced Texas to take its first timeout, as the Tigers regained the lead once more at 20-19.
Texas eventually reached its set point, but the Tigers went on 3-0 run to take a 25-24 lead and force a final Texas timeout. LSU then reached its set point, but pressure from the Longhorns led Texas to claim the first set 27-25.
In the second, the Tigers took an early 2-0 run, but the No. 2 team didn’t sweat. Texas took back the lead and kept it to force the first LSU timeout up 19-17. The Tigers took their final timeout moments later, trailing 20-22. In the end, Texas took set two 25-21.
Texas went on to showcase its determination in the final set. The Longhorns gained a quick 11-7 advantage to force the Tigers’ first timeout.
LSU struggled to find the answers it was able to come up with in the previous two sets. Once Texas advanced to 16 points, the Tigers burned their final timeout of the set. Texas took set three 25-18 to finish out the sweep over LSU.
That third and final set was the brutal point of the match for LSU. After monumental rallies in the first two sets in the matchup, the team slowly fell apart once the competition increased. To Johnson, staying consistent is something she’s wanted her team to work on all season.
“Texas got better as the match went on,” Johnson said. “[We’re] losing sets by two or three points, and it’s [those] three or four point plays that if we can get a little bit more consistent with that and play better for a longer period of time, it puts us in a good situation.”
Moving forward, LSU will host Mississippi State and Ole Miss at home to finish out its four-match home stretch. If Johnson’s players can continue to perform at the service line like they did during the first two sets of this matchup with Texas, they have a great opportunity to compete in the final stretch, she said.
In specific preparation, Johnson wants her team to continue to get better at playing in high-pressure games. LSU’s serving put a good amount of pressure on the Longhorns through the entirety of the matchup, and it’s all a mental game from there. Johnson knows volleyball is a sport of mental training, and is prepared to work on that with her players.
“We play tight sets like that in practice,” Johnson said about pushing her team through the aggressive sets. “We drill that stuff in terms of what we want that to look like and the momental training standpoint, so that they know that when it gets to the crunch time, they’re able to handle it.”
