OMAHA, Neb. — The Tigers’ inability to find a rhythm offensively finally caught up with them, as the No. 21 LSU volleyball team lost its first match of the year to No. 16 Minnesota in three sets (25-11, 25-21, 25-22).
LSU hit just .089 for the match, the lowest total of the three matches this year and first time the Tigers have failed to hit at least .100 since losing to No. 10 Florida on Oct. 26, 2007. The loss dropped LSU to 2-1 for the season, while Minnesota improved to 3-0.
“Minnesota was certainly the better team today,”LSU head coach Fran Flory said. “It’s a match we can take and learn a great deal from. I felt like at times we established a very solid rhythm, but we were never able to sustain that rhythm and gain any success. I have to credit Minnesota with the fact they never allowed us to establish any part of our offense with any level of consistency. Their serving took us out of our ball control and thus our offense, and their blocking was very solid.”
Just as LSU had led in most statistical categories the previous two matches, Minnesota owned the top marks in this match-up. While close in total kills (39-35), assists (35-34) and digs (45-44), the major discrepancy came in total blocks and number of attack errors. Minnesota totaled 11 blocks while LSU managed just four. LSU’s 25 attack errors compared to only 12 for the Golden Gophers.
“This was a match that was won at the net,” Flory said. “They challenged us to compete with them at the net and we did not answer that challenge as well as we needed to. But that’s something we can improve upon. Our offense can become more efficient and our blocking can become much more stable. It’s a great learning experience for us, but I’m certainly disappointed at the fact we lost all three.”
Kyna Washington and Brittnee Cooper were the only Tigers to post double-figure kills with 13 and 12, respectively. Elena Martinez was the digs leader with 12 while Sam Dabbs dished out 31 assists.
Brook Dieter was the star of the match for Minnesota, as the outside hitter posted a double-double with 12 kills and 10 digs while hitting at a .321 clip. Golden Gophers libero Christine Tan tallied 11 digs. The Golden Gophers tied a Bluejay Invitational record for total attacks with 149.
LSU never got anything going in the first set, dropping the opening frame by scoring just 11 points. As a team the Tigers hit .000 in the first set as four players had negative individual percentages. The Golden Gophers, meanwhile, hit .345.
The Tigers kept things much closer in set two, even finding themselves tied with the Golden Gophers at 15-all. But they couldn’t keep up in the end, falling 25-21 in the second set.
Defensively, LSU was much better in the second set, holding Minnesota to just a .167 clip as opposed to .345 in the first. However, the Tigers managed just a .114 clip of their own and totaled 15 attack errors to just 19 kills heading into the locker room.
The third set wasn’t much better for the Tigers in the early going. LSU had found itself down 22-16 late in the third set, but rallied to tie things back at 22-all and look like it might force another set. But the Gophers scored the next three to close out the set and secure the match victory.
The Tigers are supposed to return home and play host to the Tiger Invitational next weekend, but further plans will be made based on the effects of Hurricane Gustav.