BATON ROUGE, La. – Outside hitter Sanaa Dotson registered a career-high .591 hitting percentage behind a season-high 14 kills to help LSU defeat Mississippi St., 3-1 (19-25, 25-22, 25-20, 25-20) Sunday evening at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
LSU (7-6, 2-1 SEC) outworked Mississippi State (8-6, 1-3 SEC) in numerous categories, including hitting percentage (.228-.191), kills (57-41), assists (57-36), aces (6-4), and digs (65-48).
Right side Jade Demps turned in her third double-double of the season with 11 kills and 12 digs while also recording a .370 hitting percentage. Outside hitter Samarah Hill flirted with a double-double after recording season-highs of nine kills and nine digs, and outside hitter Jurnee Robinson matched Hill’s nine kills.
For the second time this season, setter Maddie Waak handed out 50 assists, contributed six digs, four kills on five errorless attacks, and had one ace and one block.
Libero Bri Anderson concluded the night with a career-high three aces and led the team with 14 digs. Defensive specialist Erin Carmicheal added two aces, and outside hitter Paige Flickinger had 13 digs to complete the Tigers’ double-digit dig performers.
Set 1
Neither team could create separation, and the Tigers headed into the media timeout down 15-14. The Bulldogs established a 6-1 run, forcing LSU to use both timeouts, trailing 21-16. Mississippi St. scored on four of the final six rallies to win the set, 25-19.
Set 2
The Tigers started the set on an 8-2 run to encourage the Bulldogs to burn a timeout. Mississippi St. stormed back and took a 21-16 lead, but LSU rattled off six unanswered points to regain the advantage at 22-21. The Tigers closed the set on a 10-2 run to take set two, 25-22, and even the match. LSU clamped down defensively and held MSU to a .167 hitting percentage thanks to 15 digs and was led offensively by Dotson and Robinson’s five kills each.
Set 3
LSU built a 15-11 lead courtesy of a 3-0 run entering the media timeout. The Tigers kept their momentum and forced the Bulldogs to use their first timeout, trailing 18-13. MSU was able to pull within three points at 22-19, but LSU increased its margin back to five points and won the set, 25-20. The Tigers had a .333 hitting percentage, ending the set with 19 kills, led by Hill’s five kills. Demps (.800) and Dotson (.667) split eight kills evenly on 11 combined swings with no errors.
Set 4
Although a tight set, LSU closed the match with a wire-to-wire fourth-set victory. The Tigers found themselves ahead 15-14 heading into the media timeout and pulled away with a 5-1 run to win the set 25-20. LSU held Mississippi St. to a .167 hitting percentage for the second time in the match. Demps paced the Tigers with four kills and four digs, while Dotson and Hill tallied three kills each. Anderson served two aces, and Waak added 10 assists in the set.
Up Next
LSU concludes its three-match homestand against No. 14 Arkansas on Wednesday, Oct. 4, at 7 p.m. CT.
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