LSU Gold

Tigers Make Comeback to Down Tennessee in Five Sets

by Chelsey Chamberlain | Assistant Communications Director
Box Score +0
Tigers Make Comeback to Down Tennessee in Five Sets

BATON ROUGE – After trailing 2-0 on the match, the LSU volleyball team made a comeback to defeat Tennessee in five sets on Friday evening in Thompson-Boling Arena by scores of 24-26, 24-26, 25-22, 25-20, 15-11. The Tigers are now 9-6 on the year and 3-2 in the SEC, while Tennessee drops to 8-7 overall and 2-3 in the SEC.

Junior Taylor Bannister led the Tigers with a season-high 24 kills and 10 digs, her second double-double in her career. Freshman Karli Rose finished with a double-double, her fifth on the year, with a career-high 55 assists and 11 digs. Junior Raigen Cianciulli led the Tigers in digs with 17 while Allee Morris picked up a career-high nine blocks.

UP NEXT

The Tigers continue their road trip, taking on Georgia in Athens on Sunday at 1 p.m. CT. The match will stream live on SEC Network+ and will be available via live stats.

HOW IT HAPPENED

  • The Tigers and the Vols started off the set going back and forth, but the Vols went on a 3-0 run to take a 8-4 lead. LSU worked its way back to come within two, 11-9, after a kill by Whitney Foreman.
  • Tennessee took a 15-12 lead into the media timeout. The Tigers came out of the timeout and scored three-straight points off a kill by Foreman, an ace from Taylor Bannister and a block by Foreman and Karli Rose, tying the set at 15-15.
  • The Vols took a timeout as the Tigers came within one, 19-18, but the Tigers tied the set up at 20-20 off a kill by Rose. Two straight points by the Vols gave them a 22-20 lead and forced LSU to a timeout. A kill by Bannister and an error by the Vols tied the set up 22-22, forcing Tennessee to a timeout.
  • An ace from Samarah Hill put the Tigers head 23-22, but Tennessee answered back. The Tigers had set point, but Tennessee put together a three-point run to take the first set, 26-24. LSU hit .344 to Tennessee’s .419. Bannister and Foreman each had four kills.
  • In the second set, LSU went on a 6-2 run to take a 9-8 lead, forcing the Vols to a timeout. After an Emmaline Walters ace, Tennessee went on a 5-0 run to take a 12-9 lead and force LSU to a timeout.
  • LSU tied the set up at 15-15 after Bannister’s eighth kill on the match. The two teams went point-for-point until Tennessee took a timeout after a kill by Rose, giving the Tigers the 20-19 lead.
  • The two teams went back and forth the rest of the set with Tennessee taking the set, 26-24, after two LSU attacking errors. The Tigers hit .189 in the second set with Bannister leading the way with seven kills.
  • In the third set, the Tigers and the Vols continued to play even. The Vols went on a 3-0 run to take a 10-7 lead. The Vols had a 13-10 lead, but the Tigers tied the set up 13-13 on a Vols’ attacking error.
  • The two teams went point-for-point, until LSU scored back-to-back points on a kill from Allee Morris and a net violation by the Vols, giving the Tigers a 20-18 lead. Tennessee took a timeout as LSU led 22-20. The Tigers finished the set on a 3-2 run, getting a kill from Samarah Hill to seal the third set for the Tigers, 25-22. LSU outhit the Vols, .382-.345. Bannister led the set with six kills.
  • The Tigers took a 6-4 lead in the fourth set, forcing Tennessee to take its first timeout of the set. They took their second timeout as LSU went on a 6-3 run to go ahead, 15-11. The Tigers pushed to a 20-15 lead after Bannister’s 21st kill on the night.
  • Tennessee tried to work its way back but the Tigers continued to push, claiming the fourth set, 25-20. The Tigers outhit the Vols in the fourth set .316-.222. Bannister led the Tigers again with five kills in the set.
  • In the fifth set, the Tigers got out to a 6-4 lead and extended it to a 7-4 lead after an ace from Bannister, forcing the Vols to take a timeout. The Tigers switched sides as they led 8-5 and forced the Vols to their second timeout of the set after extending the Tigers’ lead to 9-5.
  • LSU extended their lead to 13-9 after a kill by Samarah Hill and Bannister claimed the set with her 24th kill of the night, 15-11. The Tigers hit .300 in the final set.

NOTABLES

  • Freshman Allee Morris finished the match with a career-high nine blocks and career-high 12 kills. The last time a Tigers finished with seven or more blocks was Whitney Foreman against Arkansas in 2018.
  • The last time the Tigers lost the first two sets and came back and won was against Tennessee in 2017.
  • The last time an LSU player had 20 or more kills was Taylor Bannister against Ole Miss in 2018.

Volleyball Social Center
For all of the latest news and information on Tiger volleyball, visit www.lsusports.net/volleyball. Fans can also follow the program on its social media outlets at www.Facebook.com/lsuvolleyball along with @lsuvolleyball and @lsucoachfran on Twitter and @lsuvolleyball on Instagram.