SAN ANTONIO — The LSU volleyball team gave it all it had on Saturday morning, taking No. 13 Texas A&M to the brink, but dropped a heartbreaker, 28-30, 30-17, 30-28, 29-31, 15-13, in the Dome Rally in San Antonio.
The loss was the first of the season for the Tigers, who dropped to 7-1 on the season and 1-1 in tournament play. The Aggies improved to 7-1 on the year and 1-1 in tournament action.
“I am really proud of the resiliency of this team,” said LSU head coach Fran Flory. “They bounced back when they were down. It was a great match; unfortunately we could not close it out in the end.
Senior Jelena Mijatovic led the Tigers with a season-high 25 kills and 11 digs for her third double-double of the season. In addition, she recorded four service aces and a block in the match. Senior Ivana Kuzmic recorded her first double-figure blocking match of the season, posting 10 blocks for the Tigers, while coming up one kill short of a double-double with nine.
Freshman Kyna Washington was one kill shy of her career best with 16 kills and a digs short of her first career double-double with a career-best nine. Junior Melody Clark posted 14 kills and four blocks, while junior Kassi Mikulik led the team with a season-best 22 digs.
“The whole team played well,” said Flory. “We were two points away from defeating the No. 13 team in the nation, which is a huge step for us. We stepped up the competition level and I think that we gave Texas A&M a handful and they are lucky to come away with the victory.”
All-American Laura Jones led the match with 35 kills for Texas A&M, while also recorded 13 digs and six blocks. Holly Clay led the match with 23 digs for the Aggies. Averaging 2.70 service aces per game, Texas A&M was held to only three for the five-game match.
“I think our team showed great heart,” said Flory. “The difference in the match was that they have a proven All-American and we are not proven yet. It was just another step on our journey and will be a driving force for us in the future like being left out of the NCAA Tournament has been. I think we took a step forward.”
In the first game, the Tigers took an early lead, 7-2, with the only two points for Texas A&M coming by way of a pair of LSU service errors. With the Tigers leading 12-6, the Aggies went on a 12-6 run to tie the match at 18 all. LSU retook the lead for good, 19-18, on a kill by Clark. The Tigers served for the game at 29-24, but Texas A&M fought off five game points before a kill by Clark gave LSU the game, 30-28.
In the second game, the pair traded points until the Aggies took the lead for good, 7-6 on a service ace, their first of the match. Texas A&M went on to even the match, 30-17. After hitting .256 in the first game, LSU hit only .108 in game two, while the Aggies improved from a .209 mark to a .433 hitting percentage.
The Tigers fell behind, 9-6, in the third game before a 6-0 run gave LSU the 12-9 lead. The Tigers led by as many as four, 20-16 and again, 23-19, but Texas A&M came back to tie the game at 25 all. With the game knotted at 28, the Aggies scored the final two points to take the two-game advantage, 30-28.
LSU led by as many as four in the early stages of game four, 9-5. With the Tigers leading 15-11, Texas A&M came back to tie it up at 17 all. The Aggies took the lead, 19-19 and led by as many as two. Trailing 25-23, LSU scored five straight to take the 28-25 lead. Texas A&M would not go away and tied it up at 28 all. The Tigers held game point, 29-28, but could not put it away. On its second game point, LSU used the fourth service ace of the match by Mijatovic to send the match to a decisive fifth game, 31-29.
In the final game, the Tigers exploded out to a 9-3 lead. The Aggies came back to within two points, 11-9, before finally tying the game at 13 all. Texas A&M scored the final four points of the game to take the match, 15-13.
LSU is now 0-2 all-time against Texas A&M, with both losses against nationally ranked Aggie teams coming in five games.
The Tigers will now face Rice, which is receiving votes in the national poll, on Sunday at 3 p.m. to conclude play in the Dome Rally. LSU is 13-2 all-time against the Owls and split a pair of meetings last season.
No. 13 Texas A&M def. LSU, 28-30, 30-17, 30-28, 29-31, 15-13
No. 13 Texas A&M (7-1) (Kills-aces-blocks) – Laura Jones 35-0-6; Kendra Felder 12-1-6; Kelly Stanton 7-0-6; Kari Kelley 4-0-4; Jen Moore 0-0-0; Courtney McCrocklin 0-0-0; Holly Clay 0-0-0; Christi Hahn 10-1-4; Cristin Burton 14-1-2; Totals 82-3-15.0. (Assists) – Kari Kelley 59. (Dig leaders) – Holly Clay 23, Laura Jones 13, Kari Kelley.
LSU (7-1) (Kills-aces-blocks) – Jelena Mijatovic 25-4-1; Kyna Washington 16-0-3; Melody Clark 14-1-4; Ivana Kuzmic 9-0-10; Vanessa Freeman 7-0-3; Daniela Romero 1-0-1; Lauren Leaumont 0-1-0; Heather Fierce 0-0-0; Marina Skender 6-0-5; Kassi Mikulik 0-0-0; Totals 78-6-14.0. (Assists) – Daniela Romero 38, Heather Fierce 21. (Dig leaders) – Kassi Mikulik 22, Jelena Mijatovic 11, Heather Fierce 10.