Volleyball Falls to Texas A&M in Season Finale

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The LSU volleyball team fell to Texas A&M in five sets on Friday afternoon by scores of 25-23, 22-25, 25-23, 22-25, 7-15. LSU finishes the season with a 12-17 overall record and a 7-11 record in the SEC. Texas A&M finishes 2018 with a 17-13 overall record and a 10-8 record in the league.

Taylor Bannister led the Tigers with 10 kills, while Raigen Cianciulli finished with a team-high 17 digs. Anna Zwiebel chipped in 10 digs, while Lindsay Flory finished with 33 assists. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Tigers started off the match with scoring the first two points, including a block by freshman Whitney Foreman. The Tigers pushed to a 9-4 lead, forcing Texas A&M to take a timeout.
• A big block by Taylor Bannister and Olivia Beyer put the Tigers ahead 15-7. After an attacking error by the Aggies, Texas A&M used its second timeout of the set as the Tigers led, 16-7.
• Texas A&M went on a 6-0 run to come within one of the Tigers, 21-20. LSU used their second timeout of the set. The Aggies tied up the set at 22-22 and took the lead on the next play. The two teams went back and forth until the Tigers scored two straight on back-to-back blocks by Bannister, Foreman and Milan Stokes, claiming the set, 25-23.
• Bannister and Flory each has two kills, while the team hit .167 for the set. Raigen Cianciulli picked up five digs.
• Texas A&M got out to a little bit of a lead in the second set. The Tigers came within on, 6-5, on a double block by Lindsay Flory and Beyer. The two teams traded points until the Aggies went on a 4-0 run to take a 13-8 lead, forcing the Tigers to use their first timeout of the set.
• LSU went on a 3-0 run to come within three of the Aggies, 15-12. The Tigers used their second timeout of the set as the Aggies pushed to a 22-16 lead.
• The Tigers went on a 3-0 run, holding off the Aggies on set point for three-straight points. The Aggies took a timeout and came out to score the final point, taking the set 25-22 and tying up the match.
• Texas A&M got out to a 7-3 lead on the Tigers in the third set. The Tigers worked their way back and came within two, 9-7 after a couple of error by the Aggies. The Tigers pushed to tie the set up at 14-14 and went into the media timeout, trailing the Aggies 15-14.
• The Tigers took the lead on an Toni Rodriguez kill, 17-16 and pushed to a 23-20 lead, forcing the Aggies to take a timeout. The Aggies held off the Tigers for a couple points, but Rodriguez finished on the set with a kill for a 25-23 win, taking a 2-1 lead on the match. The Tigers hit .286 for the set.
• It was a little bit of a slow start in the fourth as the Tigers trailed the Aggies, 7-3. The Tigers worked their way back again and tied the set up at 15-15.
• The two teams traded points until the Aggies took a two-point lead at 20-18, forcing the Tigers to take a timeout. The Aggies pushed to a 22-19 lead and the Tigers used their final timeout of the set.
• The Tigers held off the Aggies for one set point, but the Aggies claimed the set 25-22, tying the match up at 2-2.
• The two teams started off the fifth set trading points. The Aggies took a 5-3 lead, forcing the Tigers to a timeout. The Tigers used their second timeout of the set as the Aggies took a 10-4 lead. The
• Aggies scored the final three points of the set to claim the match.

NOTABLES

• It was the final match for four seniors in Lindsay Flory, Katie Kampen, Toni Rodriguez and Olivia Beyer. These four seniors have the highest GPA as a class in LSU volleyball program history, holding a 3.864 cumulative GPA. The class has also done their part off the court, totaling 573.4 hours of community service.
• Bannister led the Tigers with 10 kills. This is her 25^th match leading the team and 26^th match in double digits.
• Cianciulli’s 17 digs is her 25^th match in double digits on the season.