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Volleyball Beats South Carolina in Five Sets

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Volleyball Beats South Carolina in Five Sets

Baton Rouge, La. – LSU (6-11) volleyball won a hard-fought, five-set match over South Carolina (12-7) on Saturday afternoon in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

LSU won a tightly contested first set, 25-18. The Tigers dominated the second set, winning 25-9. South Carolina won a close third set, 25-21. Despite a valiant comeback effort by LSU in the fourth set, South Carolina narrowly won it, 25-21, and forced a fifth set to decide the match. LSU won the fifth set, 15-8, and won the match. 

“That’s a team that feels like they’re on the NCAA Tournament bubble and have a chance so it was nice to play a quality opponent that way,” said head coach Fran Flory. “It was a great match for us to mature and grow up through and understand the aspects we can control versus the aspects we can’t control and respond to that.”

The Tigers will face South Carolina again on Sunday at 1 p.m. CT in the PMAC. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network +. 

The second set was a dominant one for the Tigers’ defense, winning 25-9. Nine points is the fewest allowed in a set by LSU since 2010 and the fewest allowed in an SEC match since 2009. 

Taylor Bannister led the team with 25 kills and Hannah Brister finished with 12 of her own for the match. Paige Flickinger also had double-digit kills, finishing with 10. 

“What a great match for Taylor,” said Flory. “Hannah Brister came through with some key plays that aren’t on the stat sheet but made the difference in the fifth set.”

LSU also had 8 service aces for the match. Flickinger had a career-high with four, which also led the team. 

“Credit our serving,” said Flory. We can be a really good serving team, but we are still a work in progress.” 

The Tigers finished with a .312 hitting percentage, which was their best performance of the season so far. 

How it Happened

Set 1

  • LSU got its first point via a Hannah Brister kill. 
  • The teams went back-and-forth early, and the score was tied at four. 
  • An ace by Paige Flickinger gave the Tigers a 7-4 lead. 
  • After more scoring by both squads, LSU led South Carolina 12-8. 
  • A kill by Taylor Bannister and ace by Flickinger gave the Tigers a 16-13 lead, forcing the Gamecocks to call a timeout. 
  • Out of the timeout, LSU went on a 5-3 scoring run to take a 21-16 lead. South Carolina called another timeout. 
  • The Tigers finished out the set strong, winning 25-18. 

Set 2 

  • The Tigers quickly jumped out to a 2-0 lead over the Gamecocks. 
  • After a big kill by Bannister, LSU had a 5-1 lead, forcing South Carolina into a timeout. 
  • The Tigers went on a 6-4 scoring run after the timeout to take an 11-4 lead. 
  • LSU continued to extend its lead and was ahead 18-9. 
  • Bannister and Flickinger each had two kills to help LSU end the set on an 8-0 scoring run. 
  • The Tigers dominated the second set, winning 25-9 over the Gamecocks. 

Set 3 

  • Scoring came easy for both teams, and the score was tied at four early in the set. 
  • Back-to-back kills by Brister put the Tigers on top, 6-4. 
  • LSU continued to score points and led South Carolina 9-5, forcing a Gamecocks’ timeout. 
  • South Carolina went on a 5-1 scoring run, evening the score up at 10. 
  • The Gamecocks took a slight lead over the Tigers, going up 13-12 on the scoreboard. 
  • South Carolina extended its lead as LSU trailed 18-16.
  • After a Bannister kill, LSU only trailed by one point. The Gamecocks led 21-20 late in the set. 
  • LSU fought hard, but South Carolina eventually won the set, 25-21. 

Set 4 

  • The fourth set saw both teams trading points early as the score was tied at three. 
  • South Carolina eventually broke the stalemate and took the lead, 7-4. 
  • The Gamecocks extended their lead and forced the Tigers to call a timeout, trailing 9-4. 
  • South Carolina continued to hold the lead. The Gamecocks led LSU 16-9. 
  • The Tigers trailed 22-16 as South Carolina called a timeout. 
  • The Gamecocks never relinquished the lead, despite a valiant comeback effort by the Tigers. South Carolina won the fourth set, 25-21. 

Set 5 

  • The Tigers took an early 3-2 lead over the Gamecocks. 
  • A kill by Anita Anwusi and a South Carolina attack error gave LSU a 5-3 lead. 
  • The Tigers extended their lead to three. LSU led South Carolina 7-4. 
  • The Gamecocks called a timeout, trailing LSU 8-4 in the final set. 
  • The Tigers led South Carolina 11-6, inching closer to winning the set. 
  • LSU eventually won the fifth set, 15-8.