“It’s a mindset to me. Do you want to finish this, or do you want to drag this thing out? For some reason, we’ve chosen to drag it out. It’s not like we’re not capable of finishing the match.”
That was Coach Johnson’s response as to why LSU wasn’t able to close out sets and matches against Mississippi State, as both games of last weekend’s series went all five sets, something that’s happened a lot this season.
LSU has played the full five sets in 10 of their 21 matches, including nine of their 12 SEC matches. The team has a record of 6-4 in that final frame.
Going to five sets so often has been a test of LSU’s grit and a testament to its conditioning, but it’s also been a headache at times.
“I just want them to understand that they’re capable of beating teams in three,” said Johnson.
Six days after LSU had finally done just that in sweeping South Carolina, the Tigers’ first sweep since Sept. 17 against Tulane, the Tigers matched up with a solid 11-9 Mississippi State team, hosting them twice over the weekend. Mississippi State entered ranked No. 26 in RPI to LSU’s No. 28, so the teams were evenly matched, especially in their defensive ability.
Mississippi State and LSU are first and second in the SEC in digs per set. The teams’ defenses both do a great job of keeping the ball in play and anticipating attacks. This strength-on-strength matchup produced several incredibly long volleys that went back and forth with impressive dig after impressive dig.
As such, the two matches produced four of the SEC’s top five performances this season in terms of digs in a match by a single team, with Mississippi State’s 112 on Sunday standing as the highest total by any SEC team this year. LSU’s 108 digs in that same game was the second highest, and it was the Tigers’ highest match total since 2013.
Despite how close these two teams were on paper, Mississippi State started out strong in the first of the two matches. LSU dropped the first set 20-25 and fell behind in the second frame 11-15. LSU’s usually reliable back row was struggling with their defensive positioning and passes to the setter were off target, leading to a sub-par offense.
LSU then went on a 9-1 run during which junior outside hitter Paige Flickinger put up four kills, an ace and a solo block. That run allowed LSU to win the second set comfortably and carried over into an easy third set win. LSU stumbled in the fourth set but prevailed in the fifth set 15-10 when Flickinger once again took over, tallying four kills in the set.
“I was just talking with my setters about leading me a little bit more and trying to swing a lot higher, try to take the block out of play. Trying to swing for that end line, it’s pretty undefendable most of the time, so that really helped me a lot and then the tips right over were really huge for me,” Flickinger said about her offensive approach during the match, as she put up 17 kills coming in a variety of ways on an excellent .375 hitting percentage.
Although LSU won, lackluster first and fourth sets when the team surrendered momentum all too easily had them searching for a better performance the next day.
“Coach said in the locker room we played great for a set and a half. Tomorrow’s gonna be the goal, three straight sets. We want to play clean the entire time,” Flickinger said.
LSU had a chance to do just that after coming back from an early 13-20 deficit in the first set of the second match and eventually tying it up 22-22. The Tigers would have the 24-22 set point two plays later and were in good position to take the first frame.
Instead, LSU allowed the Bulldogs to snatch the first set on an unanswered 4-0 run. LSU began to dominate the next two sets, winning both by scores of 25-16. If the Tigers had won that first set, the game would have been over at that point, but they didn’t, and it wasn’t.
LSU found itself in another position to close the match in the fourth set, up 20-18. This time, the Bulldogs went on a 7-1 run to close the set and send it to the fifth and final frame. Once again, it was an avoidable collapse that extended a match that could have been over sooner.
In the fifth set, the two teams worked their way to a 10-10 tie before Mississippi State pulled ahead to a 14-11 lead. LSU miraculously staved off the match point and brought it to a 14-14 deuce. Back-to-back kills by Mississippi State, though, would end the match and give the Bulldogs a 3-2 win.
The last kill for the Bulldogs was blocked by LSU but landed out of bounds, though Johnson called for a review thinking it was touched by Mississippi State on its way down. After looking at the play, the referee kept the point with Mississippi State and the match was over.
Asked about that play, Johnson said, “Obviously, they said there was no touch on that ball. At the end of the day, the play stands, right? And we should’ve never been in that position at the end of the day. We left a lot of points out on the floor, and, in reality, we should have won the match in three.”
Heading into their next two-game series this weekend at Tennessee, LSU will be focusing on making sure its first contact gets its offense on schedule and on being prepared to defend tips over the front row, something they struggled with against Mississippi State. More than anything, though, LSU will look to stop allowing runs in crucial moments.
Despite the loss, LSU remained at No. 28 in RPI after the weekend, putting them in a good position for a possible at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
About LSU’s chances to that end, Johnson said, “if the Selection Show was today, we’d be in. Obviously, we have six matches left, and so we have some work to do against some quality opponents.”
With a record of 13-9 and a conference record of 7-5, LSU now heads to the final stretch with matches against Tennessee, Missouri, Texas A&M and Georgia. They need to make a statement that they belong in the postseason, and that won’t happen if they can’t close. More than anyone, Johnson knows there needs to be improvement.
“I don’t think we’ve played our best volleyball yet.”
