OMAHA, Neb. — The Tigers had to fight off five match points in game five, but the 21st-ranked LSU volleyball team showed its resiliency and won its season-opener against Texas A&M in five sets (23-25, 25-21, 20-25, 25-17, 20-18) to begin play in the Bluejay Invitational at the Omaha Civic Auditorium on Friday.
Despite LSU holding an 8-4 advantage when the teams switched sides in set five, Texas A&M went on a roll and served their first match point at 14-13. But the Tigers never let up, fighting off the decisive points on five separate occasions to win the fifth set and their first match of the year.
LSU (1-0) has now won eight-straight season-openers dating back to 2001, while Texas A&M (0-1) lost its first season-opener since 2000.
“I couldn’t think of a more exciting way to open the season,” LSU head coach Fran Flory said. “We’re happy and feel fortunate to win this match. I’m really proud of our effort in game five, fighting off five match points. That’s a sign of a true team that believes in itself and a more mature team. The bad part is that we don’t feel like we gave ourselves the opportunity we needed early in the match. We lost a lot of little battles that created difficult match-ups for us. But we showed our resiliency, and we may have lost those little battles but we ended up winning the war. A&M is a very good team, and I really credit their effort.”
The Tigers out-performed their opponent in nearly every major category in the win, leading in kills 68-49, assists 64-42, digs 86-81. They also had six service aces compared to the Aggies’ one, which came late in set five. LSU held A&M to just a .089 hitting percentage for the match, including a negative clip in set four.
Making her first start for the purple and gold, transfer setter Sam Dabbs paced the Tigers offense with a triple-double that included 48 assists, 14 digs and 10 kills. Senior Libero Elena Martinez grabbed a team-best 31 digs and surpassed the 900-dig mark for her career (928).
“Sam did a nice job tonight,” Flory said. “She had a difficult time finding a tempo early, which led to a lot of difficulty early in the match. She finally caught on some time in the fourth set and that was truly the turning point for us. She figured out how to feed the ball to (Brittnee) Cooper and to get the ball to the middles quicker by game four and ultimately that was the key for us. If we don’t figure that out, we don’t win the match.
“And Elena came through in a big way with her 31 digs,” Flory added. “Our defense kept us in the match when our offense wasn’t what we expected it to be early in the match. I really credit Elena for keeping the ball off the floor. That’s the kind of play we expect from our senior, and she delivered.”
Kyna Washington led LSU with 20 kills, followed by Brittnee Cooper with 13. Washington joined Dabbs with a double-double of her own, also chipping in 13 digs. Tania Schatow and Lauren DeGirolamo each had eight blocks to lead the team. Schatow’s were a career-best for the sophomore, while DeGirolamo’s total moved her up to ninth place all-time in career blocks in LSU history with 386.
Mary Batis was the star for the Aggies in their losing effort, leading in both kills and digs with 20 and 21, respectively.
With the Tigers returning almost every starter from 2007, this LSU team is used to playing five-setters. They played an astounding 12 last season with eight victories. Their first of 2008 also resulted in a win.
Set one and the 2008 LSU volleyball season began with a kill from DeGirolamo to put the Tigers up 1-0. They scored the second point as well before giving a side out to the Aggies. The scoring went back-and-forth for a few points until Texas A&M went on a four-point run when leading 7-6, causing LSU to call its first timeout. A&M scored two more points after the timeout before LSU went on a run of its own. Angela Bensend ended the scoring draught with a kill from the outside to bring the score to 13-7. The Tigers then earned seven of the next nine points to pull within one at 15-14, forcing the Aggies to use their first timeout. Dabbs then tied it up at 15-all with a kill of her own.
But A&M would score the next two points and LSU played from behind until calling another timeout down 22-19. The Tigers reeled off four straight points to take the first lead at 23-22 since being up 2-0 to start the match. But it was a lead they could not sustain, as the Aggies went on to take the first set, 25-23.
Both teams hit below .100 in the first set, Texas A&M at .053 and LSU at .024. Bensend and DeGirolamo had three kills each in the first set to lead the Tigers.
LSU opened the scoring in set two with a kill from Schatow. It was another back-and-forth affair, as the teams exchanged point after point with no team scoring more two points in a row until A&M went from being down 13-12 to going up 16-13. The set eventually got knotted back up at 19-all, with LSU going on to win, 25-21, and even the match up at one set a piece.
Both teams headed to the locker room with a set win and slightly improved hitting percentages from the second frame. LSU hit .133 in set two while A&M hit at a .105 clip.
LSU got on the board first again in set three coming out of the locker room, but Texas A&M took control after its 10th point. After the Aggies increased their lead to 17-11, the Tigers finally were able to put together a small run and got to within two at 18-16. However, A&M was able to maintain its lead and close out the third set with a 25-20 victory.
The fourth set was the first of the match in which the Tigers did not score first, but they still managed a slight lead early in the match. Freshman defensive specialist Lauren Waclawczyk made her first collegiate appearance this set, contributing to the Tigers’ cause with her first career dig. LSU won the fourth frame by the largest margin at that point, 25-17.
LSU finally hit in the .200s with a .273 clip in the fourth set while also holding the Aggies to a negative percentage at -.031.
It was all LSU early in the fifth set, as the Tigers jumped out to an 8-4 lead by the time the teams switched sides of the net. Then the Aggies scored four straight points and evened things up at 8-all. LSU took a timeout down 13-10 after an ace by A&M’s Sarah Ammerman. The Tigers took the sideout and another point on a serve by Martinez before the Aggies called a timeout of their own. After tying at 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18-all, the Tigers finally got the two points they needed to close out the fifth set and finish off the Aggies, 20-18.
LSU continues play in the Bluejay Invitational on Saturday at 10 a.m. against the host Creighton Bluejays and then will play again at 5:30 p.m. against No. 16 Minnesota.
Scoring Summary
#21 LSU def. Texas A&M: 23-25, 25-21, 20-25, 25-17, 20-18
LSU (1-0): (Kills-Aces-Blocks) ? Kyna Washington (20-2-1); Brittnee Cooper (13-0-4); Angela Bensend (11-2-2); Sam Dabbs (10-0-0); Lauren DeGirolamo (7-0-8); Tania Schatow (7-1-8); Elena Martinez (0-1-0). (Assists Leader) ? Sam Dabbs (48); (Dig Leaders) ? Elena Martinez (31); Sam Dabbs (14); Kyna Washington (13); Angela Bensend (8).
Texas A&M (0-1): (Kills-Aces-Blocks) ? Mary Batis (20-0-2); Sarah Ammerman (8-1-2); Jillian Phillips (5-0-11); Kristen Schevikhoven (5-0-3); Kelsey Black (4-0-1); Kelsey Bryant (4-0-3); Darla Donaldson (3-0-3). (Assists leader) ? Kristen Schevikhoven (36). (Dig Leaders) ? Mary Batis (21); Chelsea Ringel (15); Kristen Schevikhoven (15).