Last week the Tigers travelled to Waco, Texas to face the No. 18 Baylor Bears and the Samford Bulldogs.
When LSU took the floor, it had an opportunity to take down a ranked team and continue its winning streak and a chance to prove themselves. But the Tigers returned to Baton Rouge 1-1, taking a loss against Baylor and winning in four sets against Samford.
The Tigers and Bears faced off on Sept. 12 in the Ferrell Center in Waco, and although the 3-1 match score may seem lopsided, when you look at each frame individually, you can see that the Tigers fought to the end — something that Tiger head coach Tonya Johnson says is indicative of where her team could go.
“They just played with grit, anytime they would make a run, they would steady out,” said Johnson about her team’s attempts to stay afloat amidst slow starts against Baylor.
The first set was the Tigers’ wake–up call, as they gave up the first six points but answered with a 3-0 run of their own. Unfortunately, the Bears surged, left LSU trailing 19-10 and eventually took the set 16-25.
In the second set, sophomore outside hitter Jurnee Robinson led a 7-1 run which pulled the Tigers out of what was a 15-10 deficit. The Tigers would battle back and take the set 25-23, leaving both teams even at 1-1.
The third set was messy for LSU, with errors that the Bears took full advantage of. The Tigers had pulled within two points to make it 17-15, but the Bears quickly rallied and made it 21-16. The Bears’ final four points were sourced directly from LSU errors, ending the frame 25-21.
The Tigers weren’t done yet, and in the fourth set LSU finally had an early lead of 5-2. However the lead was quickly eroded, and the score was 11-10.
The Tigers fought on and went on a 3-0 run that took the score to 19-18 and forced a Baylor timeout.
LSU was leading 24-23 on set point and, after an untimely error was called on LSU, the Bears survived and won the set 30-28 and the match 3-1.
The story wasn’t about the 3-1 match score but about making the right touches and “doing what we are capable of doing,” Johnson said.
The Tigers biggest struggle has been having to play “come from behind,” according to Johnson, which she says is due to starting slow.
In three of the four frames against Baylor, the Tigers went down at least three points before adding points of their own to the board. Starting fast will be a point of emphasis for LSU in their games this week against Boston College, UNF and San Diego.
Although the Tigers couldn’t hang on against the Bears, Johnson feels that competing so strongly against No. 18 Baylor “sets the bar for [them] in terms of where [they] could go.”
The Tigers were able to turn it around against Samford, winning three of four sets in a strong performance against the Bulldogs. Although Jurnee Robinson was unavailable, two rising stars, freshmen Lainee Pyles and Aly Kirkhoff, played like seasoned veterans.
Pyles tallied 14 kills and 4 blocks, while Kirkhoff racked up a staggering 26 digs in the four frames.
In regards to starting slow, the Tigers responded swiftly, starting 3-0 in their first set, 6-1 in their second and 11-7 in the fourth. Sticking with the trend, the third set where LSU went down 0-3 was the only frame the Tigers dropped against Samford.
“This team has great team chemistry, and they love each other. When you’re about playing for and with each other it makes for a very successful team,” said Johnson.
It’s a notable difference from last year’s team, she said, who were still finding their footing together.
As LSU prepares for the coming weeks, they need to focus on starting fast, mitigating errors and taking it one touch at a time. According to Johnson, the attitude in the LSU locker room right now is confident, gritty and ready to take on the world.
