Tigers Cap Perfect Day with 3-1 Victory over Maryland

BATON ROUGE, La. – Outside hitter Jurnee Robinson continued to dominate the opening day of the 2024 season as she set a new career-high for the second consecutive match with 28 kills to lead LSU (2-0) past Maryland (1-1), 3-1 (25-22, 22-25, 25-20, 25-20) Friday night at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

LSU moves to 2-0 while Maryland falls to 1-1. The Tigers defeated the Terps for the first time in program history as the clubs met for the first time since 1994.

“I saw a lot of grit today,” said head coach Tonya Johnson. “We didn’t respond well at the beginning of the match this morning, but we won in five. We came back tonight and played good volleyball against a solid and veteran Maryland team. I love the way we competed. I loved our competitive spirit. Tonight was sheer grit and execution.”

Robinson recorded her second double-double of the day as she led the Tigers with 12 digs, had a .435 hitting percentage, and totaled three blocks and two aces for a match-high 31.5 points. Middle blocker Angelina Lee assisted Robinson with eight kills and had a career-high seven blocks in the win.

Setter Bailey Ortega dished out 43 assists and had eight digs. Right side Jade Demps led the Tigers with three aces, contributed five kills and two blocks, and matched freshman libero Aly Kirkhoff’s 10 digs.

The LSU defense put down nine blocks in the match and dug 60 balls to help suffocate Maryland’s offense to a .120 hitting percentage. UMD’s outside hitter Sam Csire led the Terps with 14 kills and was the only player from Maryland to reach double figures offensively.

Set 1

Maryland jumped out to a 6-2 lead, but LSU punched back with a 5-1 run to tie the set at seven behind a 3-0 run with two kills from Robinson. LSU took its first lead of the match at 11-10 but trailed 15-14 at the media timeout after the Terps’ 5-2 run. The teams traded points to a 17-17 tie, but LSU called its first timeout of the match after UMD landed two kills for a 19-17 advantage. The Bayou Bengals kept the score close and finally regained the lead at 22-21 behind Demps’ kill, encouraging Maryland to burn a timeout. After UMD tied the match at 22, Robinson went on a personal 2-0 run with a pair of kills, and middle blocker Jessica Jones ended the frame with a kill for a 25-22 win. Robinson led the charge with eight kills and hit .417 in the set, and Lee followed with four kills on a .429 hitting percentage and had three blocks.

Set 2

The Terrapins used a 7-1 run to build a 9-5 lead to force the Tigers to take an early timeout. The run continued on the other side of the break as Maryland’s lead stretched to 18-10 when LSU used its final timeout. The visiting club grew their lead to nine at 21-12, but LSU pieced together a 5-0 run highlighted by back-to-back aces by Demps, trimming the margin to 21-17. A solo block by Lee ignited the PMAC and cut Maryland’s lead down further to 23-20, but Maryland eventually took the set, 25-22, to even the match 1-1.

Set 3

After Maryland scored the first two points, LSU scored the next four to grab a 4-2 lead. LSU was the first to 10 after Robinson found the floor for another kill to make the score 10-7, but Maryland went on a 4-1 run to tie the set at 11. The teams went back-and-forth to a 14-14 tie before outside hitter Lainee Pyles sparked a 3-0 run after an emphatic kill that forced Maryland to call for time, trailing 17-14. The Terps tied the set with three points out of the timeout, but LSU refused to give up its lead as they closed the set on an 8-3 run to win it 25-20. Three of LSU’s final four points were blocks, holding Maryland to a .059 hitting percentage in the stanza. Robinson dominated in the set with nine kills on a .571 attacking percentage.

Set 4

LSU trailed early as UMD scored the first four points and led 6-2, but the Tigers scored seven of the next nine points, punctuated by an ace from Robinson to give the home team a 9-8 lead. Maryland burned through both its timeouts after LSU went on a 7-0 run for a 17-10 lead and could only pull within four points before Pyles logged the match-winning kill at 25-20. LSU hit .241 in the set, led by Robinson’s seven kills, and the LSU defense held Maryland to a .040 hitting percentage. 

Up Next

LSU concludes the opening weekend with a 3 p.m. CT match against Troy on SEC Network +. 

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