OXFORD, Miss. – For the fifth time in the last six meetings, LSU and Ole Miss battled through five sets, but LSU fell short in its quest for the reverse sweep 3-2 (20-25, 14-25, 26-24, 25-20, 12-15) Wednesday night at the Gillom Athletics Performance Center.
With the loss, LSU moves to 9-12 overall and 4-7 in SEC play, and Ole Miss improves to 11-14 overall and 4-9 in league play.
Outside hitter Jurnee Robinson paced the Tigers with 19 kills and two aces. Robinson also had three blocks, including two solo blocks, and dug seven balls. Right side Ellie Echter continues to shine as she set a new career-high with 13 kills, and outside hitter Paige Flickinger logged her first double-double of the season and 18th of her career with 12 kills and 17 digs. Flickinger also had one ace in the setback.
Setter Maddie Waak turned in her sixth double-double this year with 33 assists and 14 digs, while setter Emily Mitter finished with 19 assists. Mitter’s third assist of the night was No. 2,000 in her career.
Middle blocker Anita Anwusi led LSU with four blocks, and libero Erin Carmichael chipped in 11 digs and seven assists.
Set 1
Ole Miss jumped out to a 6-2 advantage, but LSU tied the set at eight, highlighted by a 4-0 run, and took its first lead at 11-10. The Tigers went into a media timeout ahead 15-12, but the Rebels strung together a few points to regain the lead at 17-16 and expanded their lead by scoring five unanswered points to make the count 20-16. LSU used its final timeout trailing 22-17, and although they fought off three set points, the Tigers fell 25-20.
Set 2
The Rebels scored the first three points of the set and pressured the Tigers into an early timeout with an 8-3 lead. LSU cut into the deficit at 8-6 behind three consecutive points, but Ole Miss’s lead continued to balloon to double figures as they ran away with the set, 25-14.
Set 3
LSU came out with a sense of urgency by scoring on six of the first seven rallies to help build a 9-3 lead. Ole Miss stormed back with an 11-4 run to take the lead 14-13, encouraging LSU to signal for time. Both clubs traded blows for 10 ties and locked the scoreboard at 24. LSU avoided the sweep thanks to kills from Anwusi and Echter to end the set with a 26-24 victory. Robinson had six kills and a solo block, while Flickinger tallied four kills, an ace and six digs. The third set featured 12 ties and four lead changes.
Set 4
LSU got its turn to score the first three points of the frame and used another 3-0 run to go ahead 7-2 to force Ole Miss to use a timeout. The Tigers’ margin increased to eight at 16-8 when the Rebels called their final timeout. Ole Miss pulled within four points at 23-19, but LSU evened the match 2-2 with a 25-20 win. The Tigers hit .500 in the set. Robinson took over the stanza single-handedly with eight kills on nine swings for a .889 hitting percentage.
Set 5
Neither club could break away as Ole Miss held an 8-7 lead when the teams switched sides. LSU evened the set at nine but called a timeout when OM went up 11-9 and used its final timeout trailing 13-10. The Tigers and the Rebels split the final two points, giving Ole Miss the win, 15-12.
Up Next
LSU will have its Senior Day match at 1 p.m. CT on Sunday, Nov. 5, at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
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