Despite a disappointing 3-0 loss for the LSU volleyball team tonight against Arkansas, shining star Sanaa Dotson was striking to kill.

Even against a gritty No. 13 Arkansas team, Dotson had a solid performance with 11 kills and four digs. Her consistency and play-making ability kept all three sets close.

“I think definitely for me I came in with the mindset of just using really smart shots,” Dotson said. “Arkansas is a great defensive team so we had to be okay with not scoring on every single hit.”

Midway through the season, Dotson hopes to use her leadership skills to help the team stay motivated and keep their energy up. With a 7-7 overall record, the Purple and Gold want to avoid falling flat in crunch-time matches moving forward.

“I think definitely one thing we’re still trying to grow is starting the game hot,” Dotson said. “That’s always a goal of ours. And we have a few matches where we did start super hot and were very aggressive from the beginning, but at the same time we need to figure out how to do that consistently.”

That consistent aggressiveness is what the Tigers will need if they want a chance at a successful second half of the season.

Dotson will lead the team in a tough series of matches against ranked opponents in the coming weeks with Tennessee up next on Sunday, Oct. 8.