Baton Rouge, La. – LSU Volleyball lost a hard-fought, five-set match against Ole Miss on Sunday afternoon in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
In brilliant comeback fashion, LSU won the first set, 27-15. Ole Miss took the second set, 26-24. An exciting and closely contested third set saw LSU win, 26-24. Ole Miss won the fourth set, 25-20, and forced a fifth set in the match. Ole Miss won the fifth set, 15-12, taking the match.
“I think Ole Miss just wanted to win more than we did,” said head coach Fran Flory. “They fought harder. They played a better brand of volleyball and rallied through. They played well enough to beat us.”
LSU finished the weekend 1-1 and is now 5-9. Ole Miss earned its first win of the season to improve to 1-13.
The next two matches for the Tigers will be on the road against Kentucky at Memorial Coliseum on March 5 and 6 in Lexington. Both matches are set to begin at 6 p.m. CT.
LSU was led in kills by Taylor Bannister, who finished with a season-high 28. Hannah Brister also added 12 kills of her own.
Two Tigers finished with double doubles for the afternoon. Karli Rose had 47 assists and 14 digs, while Paige Flickinger had 12 kills and added 13 digs of her own.
Raigen Cianciulli led LSU in digs with 26 for the match.
“We have to get our offense going again,” said Flory. “When our offense is rolling, we are pretty good. We have to be tougher.”
How it Happened
Set 1
- Ole Miss scored the first point of the set, but LSU quickly responded by scoring five straight points thanks to kills by Whitney Foreman, Taylor Bannister and Paige Flickinger. Ole Miss called a timeout with LSU leading 5-1.
- Out of the timeout, Ole Miss mounted a comeback, closing the gap to one point.
- Ole Miss preceded to take the lead back, forcing LSU to call a timeout, down 11-8.
- The teams continued to trade points. Ole Miss led LSU 19-16 as the teams approached the end of the first set.
- The Tigers called a timeout, trailing Ole Miss 23-19.
- LSU faced match point, down 24-19, but was able to go on an 8-1 scoring run and win the set, 27-25.
Set 2
- An Ole Miss service error gave LSU an early 1-0 lead.
- The teams went back-and-forth, with Ole Miss holding a 9-7 lead over the Tigers.
- At the media timeout, Ole Miss led LSU 15-10.
- Ole Miss continued it prolific scoring, leading LSU 19-12, and forcing the Tigers to call a timeout.
- A kill by Dylan Mayberry sparked a 4-1 scoring run for the Tigers to close the gap. Ole Miss led 22-16 as it called a timeout.
- Once again, down 24-17, the Tigers fought off match point and scored seven straight points to tie the score at 24.
- The comeback effort fell just short for LSU, as Ole Miss won the second set, 26-24.
Set 3
- The team traded point early, with Ole Miss jumping out to a 4-1 lead.
- The Tigers went on 4-1 scoring run thanks to kills by Flickinger and Bannister and tied Ole Miss at five.
- The teams continued their scoring, with neither being able to take a commanding lead. Ole Miss led LSU 12-10.
- LSU tied the score at 14 via a kill by Karli Rose.
- At the media timeout, Ole Miss led LSU 15-14.
- The teams continued to battle, with Ole Miss holding a narrow 18-16 lead over the Tigers.
- Back-to-back kills by Bannister and Flickinger tied the score at 21 between the teams.
- With the score tied at 24, a Hannah Brister kill gave LSU a one-point lead.
- A Karli Rose service ace gave LSU the win in the third set, 26-24, over Ole Miss.
Set 4
- Ole Miss took an early 2-0 lead, but a kill by Brister pulled LSU within one.
- A big kill by Whitney Foreman and an attack error by Ole Miss had LSU trailing 4-3.
- The Tigers called a timeout after Ole Miss extended its lead. LSU trailed 11-5.
- After a kill by Bannister, LSU went on a 4-0 scoring run that forced Ole Miss to call a timeout, leading the Tigers, 14-12.
- A service error by Ole Miss knotted the teams at 15 each.
- Both teams continued to trade points, with Ole Miss leading LSU 21-18 as the Tigers called a timeout.
- Ole Miss held its lead and won the fourth set, 25-20, to force a fifth set against LSU.
Set 5
- Ole Miss took an early 4-2 lead over LSU to start the set.
- LSU clawed back to even the score at six.
- Ole Miss took the lead back and led LSU 8-6 at the media timeout.
- The teams traded points down the stretch of the last set. After back-to-back kills by Flickinger, LSU tied the scored at 11.
- Despite a hard-fought set by LSU, Ole Miss won, 15-12.