AUSTIN, Texas – The LSU volleyball team took the first two sets in comeback fashion to take a two set lead, but in the end the Rice Owls produced a big comeback taking the final three to defeat the Tigers in the end 24-26, 21-25, 25-17, 25-16, 15-10 Saturday afternoon inside Gregory Gym.
LSU (0-2) started the match having hitting percentages in the .300’s in two of the first three sets with double figure kills in each. By the final two the team was hitting below .100, and while Rice (1-1) didn’t fare that much better hitting in the 100’s, the Owls finished the match hitting .226 to LSU’s .142.
Cati Leak, Gina Tillis and Katie Lindelow each earned double-doubles for LSU in the match, with Leak earning her second of the weekend finishing with 16 kills and 15 digs to go along with her three blocks and two service aces. Tillis had 14 kills and 13 digs, while adding four blocks and two services aces, as Lindelow had 11 kills, 17 digs, a block and a service ace to her credit.
Haley Smith finished one short of the match high with 21 digs, earning her first 20-plus dig match of the season for LSU, while having seven assists and a service ace. Elly Ogle served up 21 assists while tallying three blocks and two kills, with Cheyenne Wood having 18 assists, four digs and two kills.
Freshman Brittany Welsh led all players with six blocks on the day in her first start and game as a Tiger, as LSU out blocked Rice 10.0-4.0 Saturday.
Chelsey Harris of Rice finished with 19 kills for the Owls, while Madison McDaniel had 50 assists and led all players with 22 digs for the double-double. In all, Rice had five players finish with double-digit digs as Leah Mikesky had a double-double with 14 kills and 12 assists.
Rice capitalized early and jutted out to a 4-1 lead over the Tigers early, holding a minimum of a three-point lead during that stretch, but the Tigers were able to fight back as after an 8-5 deficit they rattled off four of the next five to tie the set at 9-9.
LSU earned its second tie of the set after the break, cutting another three-point deficit by rattling off four of five. A 15-12 Rice advantage whittled away as the Tigers got a kill from Tillis, unforced Rice error and an ace and kill from Leak to knot the match at 16-16. However, the Owls came back to earn three of the next four to force an LSU timeout trailing 19-17.
Down 23-18, LSU was able to cut the Rice lead to just two, kills from Lindelow and Tills, along with a service ace from Wood forced Rice into its first timeout of the match, as a block helped cut it to one at 23-22, forcing into using its second after another Tillis kill tied the first at 23-23. The sophomore would connect for another to give LSU its first lead before Rice tied it again, but that would be it as the Tigers got the final two points it needed after a Leak kill and a combo block from Welsh and Leak to end and give LSU a 1-0 advantage in the match.
The beginning of the second set was much closer between the two teams, as the first 18 points featured seven ties and two lead changes. Both sides traded salvos, but with the set tied at seven, Rice cut loose for four-straight to take an 11-7 lead and force an LSU timeout. The timeout did the trick, as the squad fought back and went on to force two more ties outscoring Rice 7-3 over the course of the next 10 to make it 14-14.
Rice didn’t fold and was the first team to get to the 20-point mark, leading the Tigers 20-18, but a service error and attacking error tied it back up at 20-20. The Owls took their final lead of the set leading 21-20, leading to a furious rally by LSU that saw the team take the next five points in a row to take a two-set lead winning 25-21.
The intermission break seemed to help the other side out early, with Rice pacing out to a 5-1 lead over the Tigers early in the third set. The Owls’ largest lead at any point in the early goings was five points at two different intervals. Slowly, LSU began to chip away at the Rice lead, pulling within mere points before the two teams went into the first break with LSU trailing 15-12.
The set as a whole was offensive marvel as both teams were hitting at highly efficient clips late into the frame. Unfortunately for the Tigers, Rice would take another five point lead going up 20-15 as LSU would only be able to earn two more points in the set as Rice went on to take it 25-17.
Starting the fourth was the complete opposite from the third as it was the Tigers that jumped out to a 4-1 lead over Rice thanks to three attack errors from Rice, two into LSU blocking and a Kill from Tillis to aid in the cause. The Owls pulled within one after getting three back, but the Tigers stood firm scoring five of the next six to go up 10-5 and force the opposition into its first timeout of the fourth. By that point, Rice had already hit into three total LSU blocks and struggling to find momentum offensively.
Although holding the lead, LSU had just three kills through he first 24 points of the fourth, allowing the Owls to mount a bit of a comeback, tying the set at 13-all after outscoring LSU 8-3 to start another back-and-forth affair trading points. However, with the set tied at 16-16, Rice went on a tear scoring nine-straight to close and force a deciding fifth.
LSU took to the fifth and earned the first three points capped by a kill from Tillis to give the Tigers and early advantage. The lead would be short lived as the Owls came back and pulled within one and turning a 4-3 deficit into an 8-5 lead into the court switch and Rice retaining the momentum. The closest LSU would be able to come to Rice would be three points, as the Owls went on to take the fifth 15-10 and claim the match.
LSU will be back in action later tonight, taking on No. 3 Texas to close out the American Campus Classic in Austin at 7:30 p.m.
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