LSU volleyball took on No. 9 Texas A&M on Friday night, opening another rivalry weekend of back-to-back volleyball and football battles.
Historically, LSU had won three of the past four matches against Texas A&M at home in the PMAC. The Tigers were 20-32 all-time against the Aggies ahead of this matchup.
Unfortunately for the Tigers, they would not tally another win onto any of those records. LSU fell 25-22, 14-25, 22-25, 23-25, moving the team to 1-5 against ranked opponents this season.
Reflecting on the matchup, head coach Tonya Johnson knew her team missed several crucial opportunities as they dropped the final three sets. The momentum was on LSU’s side, the team just needed to figure out a way to keep it, Johnson said.
“We were pretty high error at times in the next three sets — particularly the second set, and just couldn’t get anything going,” Johnson said. “We just have to do a better job of playing for longer periods of time [and] playing consistently for a long period of time. We lost focus tonight.”
This loss marks the Tigers’ 10th loss of the season, evening their overall record 10-10. LSU is now 3-6 facing conference opponents.
Despite the loss, several Tigers put up great performances on both offensive and defensive fronts.
In the first set, service errors from A&M allowed LSU to capitalize on effortless points. The match grew more competitive by the minute, with both teams inching closer to 25. Back-to-back kills by senior outside hitter Nia Washington brought up set point, and the Tigers eventually secured the first 25-22.
Washington concluded the match with 16 kills and nine digs. Middle blockers Angelina Lee and Tireh Smith contributed eight and five kills, both adding four blocks each.
On the back end of the court, Brooker finished with 20 assists, eight digs and two kills. Junior libero Ella Hemmings recorded a career-high three aces at the service line.
Junior outside hitter Jurnee Robinson followed behind Washington with 12 kills and nine digs.
An impressive behind-the-back kill by Robinson would confuse the Aggies’ defense to start the second set. Yet, that kill wasn’t enough to shake Texas A&M entirely. LSU was forced to take both of its timeouts early and A&M eventually ran away with it 25-14.
LSU started the third set on a 3-0 run as Texas A&M’s defense struggled to keep up, something that the top-10 team had uncharacteristically been dealing with all night.
On the Tigers’ side of the net, more deflected balls out of bounds would allow the Aggies’ offense to regain their composure. Huge blocks by Texas A&M’s opposite hitter Logan Lednicky and middle blocker Ifenna Cos-Okpalla led to A&M taking the third set 25-22.
With Texas A&M winning the previous two sets, LSU needed to find a way to stay in this match. The Tigers usual confidence on offense did not click early on, though, allowing for A&M to take control in the beginning.
The Aggies were the first to reach 20 points, with LSU trailing not far behind at 17. The Tigers didn’t go down without a fight, forcing a three-point run that tied the set 20-20.
The air in the PMAC grew tense as both teams itched to reach 25 points before the other. For Texas A&M, the 25th point would win this match for the ranked team. For LSU, that point would give the Tigers one more opportunity to pull off an upset.
A&M was the first to reach its set point due to a kill attempt by Robinson that landed just out of bounds. LSU challenged the play but lost its challenge, and the Aggies earned their set point.
A visibly frustrating ending for the Tigers would happen in the very next play.
LSU’s setter Lauren Brooker was called under the net, which ultimately led to the Aggies claiming the fourth set 25-23 after the review on the play was confirmed. Texas A&M took the match 3-1.
An undefeated No. 2 Texas team is next up on the Tigers’ schedule, and there’s a tremendous amount of work to be done before then.
Against Texas A&M, Washington focused on simply unleashing her attack against the team. In preparation for the Longhorns, the same aggressive mindset will be followed, she said.
“You have to throw the first punch with these great teams,” Washington said. “Our serving has to be on point.”
As for the Tigers’ head coach, Johnson’s focus ahead of the matchup against her former team is to limit opponents’ advantage of point runs.
“Everything counts. You can’t allow other teams to go on three or four point runs at a time,” Johnson said. “We allowed [Texas] A&M to go on one too many runs tonight.”
