AUSTIN, Texas – In the finale of the 2015 American Campus Classic, the LSU volleyball team pushed the No. 3 Texas Longhorns to the limit in a three set affair, falling 25-12, 25-22, 25-21 Saturday night inside Gregory Gym.
After starting the match a bit sluggish, LSU (0-3) came to life in the second and third sets, making things harder for the home standing Longhorns (3-0) who were also closing their home tournament, forcing 18 ties and five lead changes throughout the match that featured a near-capacity crowd in attendance.
Katie Lindelow tied for the match-high in kills earning 12, coming just short of earning a double-double with eight digs and three blocks. Coming off of the bench and helping light a fire for the squad was Mimi Eugene, who did finish the match with a double-double after earning 11 kills and 10 digs with a service ace.
Cheyenne Wood served up 14 assists for the Tigers in the match, while Lindsay Flory added 11. Haley Smith finished the night with 16 digs, while also earning her first kill of the season. The Tigers finished two blocks shy of matching the Longhorns’ total with 5.0 to their 7.0, as Tiara Gibson and Brittany Welsh had two to go along with Lindelow’s three.
Amy Neal finished with 12 kills to lead Texas, while Chloe Collins had 30 assists and 12 digs for the double-double. Cat McCoy led all players with 22 digs, while Molly McCage had five blocks for the Longhorns and seven kills.
A kill from Lindelow tied the opening frame at 1-1, as after an attacking error on both sides tied the first at 2-2. From that point, Texas went on a 7-0 run to go up 9-2 to force LSU into a timeout. The Longhorns would get the next point out of the break to make it 10-2, but the two teams would split the next six points to make it 13-6 pulling LSU within seven, but Texas put enough distance between themselves and the Tigers, taking the first 25-12.
LSU started out better in the second set, taking its first lead of the match thanks to some kills by Lindelow, Eugene and some unforced Texas errors, going up 4-2 early in the frame. The team wouldn’t relinquish the lead easily, going up 5-3 after another kill, forcing the Longhorns to make plays to get back into the set.
The Longhorns would get the next two points to tie the match for the third time, with another coming at 6-6, but the Tigers got consecutive kills from Eugene to go up two. After another Texas point, a rare kill by Smith made it 9-7, with a block from Welsh and Leak making it a three-point lead at 10-7.
With a multi-point advantage, Texas went on the attack, rattling off three points of their own to knot the set at 12-12, setting off a tiff where LSU would briefly take the lead before the Longhorns would come back to tie it up. However, Texas took their second lead of the game, breaking a 12-all tie and setting off the same as before, this time in Texas’ favor.
A service error by LSU gave Texas a 15-14 lead at the mid-set timeout, and that small advantage proved to be a key start as the Longhorns got two more points out of the break to make it 17-14 putting the Tigers in a small hole. Still, LSU refused to quit, going on a 5-2 burst that knotted the set at 19, forcing Texas into using its first timeout of the match.
By the end of the second there were 13 ties and four lead changes exchanged between the two teams, as with the score locked at 20, an attack error gave LSU the lead first before a service error tied it again. An LSU attack error gave Texas the lead, with a Lindelow kill knotting it back up at 22-22. With both sides on the cusp of taking it, Texas would claim it earning the final three points in a row to go up two winning 25-22.
Unfortunately for the Tigers were unable to match their level of intensity from the second set, falling into a 6-1 hole to force a timeout to try and stop the Texas rally. They did, getting kills from Lindelow, Eugene and Gibson to make it 6-4 to cut the Longhorn advantage.
Although Texas was able to get to the 10-point barrier first by going up 10-5, the Tigers fought back scoring three consecutive to pull within two at 10-8. LSU would hover within two to three points for much of the frame early on, keeping Texas honest on both the offensive and defensive ends.
Down by four at 15-11, the Tigers went on the offensive, scoring five of the next six to tie the match at 16-16, forcing Texas into a timeout. LSU would force another tie at 17-17, but the Longhorns came back and scored the next three points to go up 20-17, leaving LSU to call its final timeout of the match. An attack error out of that break made it 20-18, but even as Texas inched closer to match point, the Tigers never gave up, pushing until the end falling 25-21.
LSU will be back in action next Friday, opening the Bobcat Invitational against the Ohio Bobcats at 11:30 a.m. in Athens.
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