BATON ROUGE, La. – The LSU volleyball team dropped a 3-1 (22-25, 21-25, 25-20, 17-25) decision to Southeastern Louisiana Sunday afternoon at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center that snapped a two-match winning streak.
Although LSU (3-4) logged more kills than Southeastern (6-3), 62-58, and held the edge in assists, 57-56, SLU was more efficient with a .321 hitting percentage to the Tigers’ .271 clip. The Tigers were plus one in aces 2-1, but the Lions won at the net 9-7 and out-dug LSU 64-61.
Outside hitter Jurnee Robinson registered her third 20-plus kill performance of the season with 22 kills and matched a season-high .362 hitting percentage in the loss. Robinson also had one ace and one block. Middle blocker Anita Anwusi matched her season-highs of 13 kills and a .667 hitting percentage and added two blocks. It is the third time this season that Anwusi has hit over .600. Lastly, right side Jade Demps finished with 11 kills and recorded eight digs in the setback.
Setter Maddie Waak concluded the match with 47 assists and eight digs, libero Erin Carmichael had a match-high 15 digs and was one of two Tigers with double-digit digs along with outside hitter Paige Flickinger (10), and middle blocker Angie Lee led the Tigers for the third consecutive match in blocks after tallying five total blocks with three kills.
Set 1
The Tigers burned their first timeout after trailing 9-5, but LSU put together a 5-1 run, forcing Southeastern to use a timeout with a slight 14 13 lead. LSU was able to tie the score at 20 but used its final timeout after falling behind 22-20 and ultimately fell in the opening frame 25-22.
Set 2
LSU opened the set with four unanswered points, but SLU went on a 10-3 run, causing LSU to use its first timeout, trailing 10-7. The Tigers went on a 4-1 rally, encouraging the Lions to use a timeout with a 14-13 lead. Southeastern scored on five of the following six points to recapture the momentum and take the set 25-21 for a 2-0 match lead.
Set 3
LSU took its first lead of the set on an Anwusi kill at 4-3, which was part of a 3-0 run, and maintained their advantage, 15-11 at the media timeout. Southeastern clawed its way back into the set with a 5-2 run, and LSU used its first timeout with a 19-17 lead. After the Tigers created a 24-20 lead, the Lions utilized both timeouts, but LSU avoided a sweep and won the set 25-20. The Tigers finished the stanza with a .600 hitting percentage, led by Robinson’s six kills (.625) and Anwusi’s five kills on a perfect five swings.
Set 4
The Tigers called a quick timeout after trailing 6-2, but Southeastern kept its foot on the gas and led 11-4, highlighted by a 7-0 run. LSU trimmed SLU’s lead to five points but had to burn its first timeout down 17-10. The Tigers scored three consecutive points out of the break that initiated a timeout from SLU, bringing the deficit to 17-13, but the Lions scored on eight of the final 12 rallies to win the set 25-17.
Up Next
LSU will travel to the Lone Star State next weekend to participate in the SMU Invitational and will face Texas A&M Corpus Christi, Texas Tech and SMU at Moody Coliseum in Dallas, Texas.
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