BATON ROUGE — After taking the two game advantage, the LSU volleyball team could not quite close out the match, dropping a heartbreaker to Mississippi State, 30-22, 30-22, 35-30, 24-30, 10-15, in Southeastern Conference action on Friday night in the Maravich Center.
With the loss, the Tigers fall to 9-4 on the season and 1-2 in league play. Mississippi State improves to 9-6 overall and 2-1 in the SEC. LSU will close out the weekend by hosting Ole Miss on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. The Rebels were 3-1 losers at Arkansas on Friday night.
“We did a very bad job of being a good team tonight,” said LSU head coach Fran Flory. “After taking the first two games, we let them in the match and as it progressed they gained confidence and we could not put them away. Credit Mississippi State for doing things that we could not answer. All year long we have been able to do certain things and we were not able to do them tonight. Now we just need to regroup and get ready for Sunday’s match.”
LSU was clearly the better team in the first two games and dominated the Bulldogs. Mississippi State then got off to fantastic starts in the third and fourth games, leads the Tigers would find insurmountable. In the fifth game, LSU fell behind early and could not find its pace, ultimately falling to the Bulldogs.
Kassi Mikulik and Jelena Mijatovic posted identical double-doubles to lead the Tigers, recording 16 kills and 16 digs each. For the second time this season, Ivana Kuzmic knocked back double figures in blocks, posting 10 on the night, while Melody Clark had a career-best eight. Rachel Pittman recorded 12 digs as the only other Tiger in double-figures.
Mississippi State was led by Rachel Cooper with 22 kills and 16 digs, while Orsolya Kriegel had 14 kills and Christa Fulenwider had 10. Megan Lukasek led the match with 18 digs, while Ashley Sledge and Andrea Mead each had 10. Fulenwider recorded a Bulldog-best five blocks in the match.
As a team, the Tigers were statistically better than Mississippi State in most categories, outhitting the Bulldogs, .171 to .152, while dominating at the net with 21 blocks, compared to eight by MSU. LSU also out dug Mississippi State, 66-65, while the Bulldogs did record three more kills than the Tigers.
With the first game tied at 16, LSU went on a 4-0 run to take the 20-16 lead. The Tigers then extended the advantage to 26-19. A kill by Mikulik gave LSU the first game, 30-22.
The Tigers came out and took the lead earlier in the second game, leading 15-10 midway through the round. LSU led by as many as nine before a Bulldog error gave the Tigers the second game by an identical 30-22 mark.
After the 10-minute intermission, the tone of the match changed as Mississippi State came out and scored the first seven points of game three. The Bulldogs led 13-3 before a 12-4 run brought LSU to within two points, 17-15, but the Tigers could get no closer. MSU scored three straight and seven of the next 10 to extend its lead to 24-19. LSU got within four points again, but a kill by the Bulldogs sent the match to the fourth game, 30-25.
Mississippi State came out and again took control early, leading 10-5 in game four, but the Tigers would not go down easily. LSU battled back to tie the game at 12 all, but could not seem to get over the hump and take the lead. The Bulldogs edged away by five points, 22-17, but the Tigers fought back to within one, 23-22. Mississippi State then scored seven of the final nine points to force a decisive game five.
Tied at two in the fifth game, a kill by MSU and a pair of service aces gave the Bulldogs a 5-2 advantage. LSU got back within one, 5-4, but once again the Tigers could not keep the momentum. Mississippi State sent it to game point, 14-8, and LSU fought off a pair of game points, but could not get close enough as the Bulldogs got a kill to end the match, 15-10.
Mississippi State def. LSU 22-30, 22-30, 30-25, 30-24, 15-10
Mississippi State (9-6, 2-1 SEC) (Kills-aces-blocks) – Rachel Cooper 22-2-2; Orsolya Kriegel 14-3-0; Christa Fulenwider 10-2-5; Jamie Joyner 5-0-0; Erin Seago 5-0-3; Jami Hester 4-0-2; Megan Lukasek 0-1-0; Andrea Mead 0-2-1; Totals 60-10-8.0. (Assists) – Andrea Mead 49. (Dig leaders) – Megan Lukasek 18; Rachel Cooper 16; Ashley Sledge 10; Andrea Mead 10
LSU (9-4, 1-2 SEC) (Kills-aces-blocks) – Kassi Mikulik 16-1-3; Jelena Mijatovic 16-5-5; Ivana Kuzmic 8-1-10; Regan Hood 7-0-5; Melody Clark 6-0-8; Rachel Pittman 2-0-0; Lauren Leaumont 2-0-1; Daniela Romero 0-3-1; Totals 57-10-21.0. (Assists) – Daniela Romero 46. (Dig leaders) – Kassi Mikulik 16; Jelena Mijatovic 16; Rachel Pittman 12; Michelle Hensgens 9