“At the end of the day, we just battled,” said Head Coach, Tonya Johnson, after an incredible first few games of conference play where her Tigers knocked off both No. 15 Kentucky and red-hot No. 20 Arkansas, who came into the match at 9-1.
“We figured out a way to keep the ball in play and to score when the pressure was on, which, you know, previously we weren’t able to finish matches like that. They just figured it out, and it was fun to watch and fun to see them grow over the course of the last week and gain some much-needed confidence in themselves,” said Johnson.
LSU went to a decisive fifth set in both of its wins, a spot the team hadn’t been in since Aug. 27 against Rice University. In that match, Rice maintained control in the final frame and scored three consecutive points to clinch it. This time around, LSU was prepared.
By the halfway point of the fifth set, LSU was the first to eight points, both times. Against Arkansas, the Tigers scored the match’s final three points, and in the Kentucky game, they built a 12-8 lead, en route to a comfortable fifth set win.
“We did what we needed to do. We did what I’ve always known we were capable of doing. It just needed to come out of us. I think they saw how good they can be. I really thought we could be a special team if they just stayed committed to the process,” Johnson said.
In both matches, LSU lost the first set but came back to go up 2-1 before dropping the fourth. Against Kentucky, LSU came out especially flat in the fourth set, going behind 16-5. The rest of the set, though, LSU outscored the Wildcats 10-9, establishing some much-needed momentum heading into the deciding set. Resilience was displayed all around for the Tigers–they responded when they needed to.
“Rally score is a game of momentum, and it can switch like that. The talk is always, ‘listen, obviously we’re playing from behind here, but we’re not going to catch up to them on one swing. It has to be one contact at a time.’ But more importantly we’ve got to get some momentum going on our side and take it into the next set, so we don’t come out flat,” said Johnson.
A big part of the Tigers’ success came because of the efforts of their middle blockers, who Johnson has been working to get more involved all season. Senior Anita Anwusi and sophomore Alia Williams combined for 38 kills across the week’s three games. Johnson noted that Anwusi in particular, with three solo blocks and 15 block assists this week, has been a major contributor.
“Anita Anwusi was a wall. Her best blocking I’ve seen all season long, just in terms of picking the right spots and her block timing. She just housed some people all week long.”
The Tigers played Kentucky for a second time on Sunday in Lexington, with a 0-3 loss being the result. The first set saw LSU fall behind 18-11 but get to within three before Kentucky would wrap up the frame, which was once again an opportunity to build momentum into the next set.
LSU lost the second set by the thinnest of margins. The Tigers led the set by as many as five, but it came to a 24-24 deuce. From there, they fought off Kentucky’s set point six times and had a set point of their own, but they eventually dropped the frame, 32-30.
That grueling second set and being so torturously close to a 1-1 game rather than a 2-0 one proved to be too much for LSU. The team would drop the next set and the match, settling to a season record of 8-5.
The loss did not dampen the enthusiasm about the week’s results, and any time a team takes one of two from Kentucky, who had a conference record of 17-1 last year, it’s a win.
LSU’s wins had a big effect on this week’s AVCA Coaches’ Poll, with Kentucky dropping down to No. 18 and Arkansas to No. 23. The Tigers have not yet entered the top 25 but were receiving votes for the first time this year.
Even though the Tigers finished their out-of-conference schedule on a two-game winning streak, it would’ve been optimistic to suggest that LSU could pull off wins against two of the best teams in the SEC, and it’s been speculated that the team could get to that level later in the year, but certainly not in the very first games of conference play.
LSU hit its stride earlier than anyone could have predicted, and now the question becomes how the team can sustain its success, starting with two home games versus 4-8 Ole Miss this weekend. Johnson says her approach stays the same–one day at a time.
“The goal is going to be today. We’ll see what we look like today in terms of our preparation and our mental focus and how we come in. It’s going to be telltale. Are we just happy with what we did, and the season’s over, or do we want to get better and build on that?”
All season, the team’s goal has been to stay competitive and improve. That remains true, but the expectations inevitably shift now. After a week that proved LSU is every bit capable of playing up to the level of the conference’s and the nation’s best, eyes turn to greater ambitions.
