Volleyball Completes 3-2 Reverse Sweep in Season Opening Win over New Hampshire

BATON ROUGE, La. – The LSU volleyball team pulled off the reverse sweep in its season-opening match against New Hampshire, 23-25, 23-25, 25-19, 25-17, 15-8, Friday morning at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

The last time LSU came back from a 0-2 match deficit was at Ole Miss on Nov. 12, 2021. The Tigers have won their season-opening match in three consecutive seasons.

Outside hitter Jurnee Robinson tallied her sixth career double-double with a career-high 25 kills and a match-high 13 digs. Robinson also logged a career-best four aces and three blocks, including one solo block. It was Robinson’s fifth career 20-kill performance and second in a season-opening match (23 kills vs. UCLA, Aug. 25, 2023).

Setter Bailey Ortega’s first double-double as an LSU Tiger was the 10th in her career. She handed out 55 assists and had 11 digs. She also snuck in four kills. Middle blocker Angelina Lee had 10 kills and a match-high five blocks, and outside hitter Ana Tevdoradze had 10 kills and three aces in the win. 

UNH’s outside hitter Hannah Serbousek led the Wildcats with 13 kills, and Meredith Hohnbaum, on the right side, followed with 12.

LSU hit .235 in the match on 63 kills and held New Hampshire to a .178 clip on 52 kills. Both teams logged eight blocks, but LSU held the clear advantage at the service line, 10-1. 

Set 1

The season’s opening set was a battle featuring 19 ties and six lead changes. Both clubs exchanged points to an 11-11 tie until Robinson sparked a 4-0 run with a kill and a pair of aces. The Wildcats side out, but a kill from LSU middle blocker Jessica Jones made the score 15-12 with LSU on top heading into the media timeout. New Hampshire scored the next three points out of the timeout to even the frame again, and the teams continued to trade points to a 23-23 tie. UNH broke free with a kill by Hohnbaum and an attack error by the Tigers to win the set, 25-23. 

Set 2

LSU scored three of the first four points in the stanza with kills from Robinson, outside hitter AC Froehlich and a block combo from Froehlich and Jones. New Hampshire kept the score close but signaled for time, with LSU leading 12-8. The Wildcats regrouped and scored six of the next eight points, highlighted by 3-0 bursts to tie the set at 14. They also encouraged an LSU timeout. Another three unanswered points gave UNH its first lead of the set at 17-16 and led at 19-17 when LSU used its final timeout. The Wildcats held set point at 24-20, but the Tigers fought off three thanks to a kill by Jones and an ace and kill by Robinson. UNH called its final timeout and took a 2-0 match lead after a kill from Serbousek ended the set, 25-23.

Set 3

For the second consecutive set, LSU struck first courtesy of a kill from right side Jade Demps. The Tigers held the momentum and rattled off three straight points for a 9-6 lead. New Hampshire made its move with a 3-0 run to tie the set at nine, but LSU responded with a 6-1 run, highlighted by a 4-0 run beginning with Robinson’s 16th kill of the match. LSU held a 15-10 advantage at the media timeout. The Tigers kept applying pressure, and the Wildcats burned a timeout when Lee registered a solo block that gave the home team a 23-17 lead. Out of the timeout, Lee terminated a ball down the middle to give LSU set point, and after two points by New Hampshire, Ortega ended the set with a dump following an incredible defensive effort to win the set, 25-19. Robinson led the Tigers with seven kills on a .375 hitting percentage, Tevdoradze followed with four kills, and Lee registered a .600 hitting percentage with three kills on five errorless swings.

Set 4

Tevdoradze started things in the fourth by landing a kill, and although UNH gained a 5-4 lead, LSU used a 3-0 run to regain a 7-5 advantage that ballooned to 15-9 thanks to a 5-0 run. The Tigers pulled away with a 25-17 victory to even the match and force a fifth set. Robinson, Lee and Tevdoradze combined for 11 kills in the set, and the Tigers defense held the Wildcats’ offense in check to a .036 hitting percentage, the lowest of the match. 

Set 5

It was all LSU in a wire-to-wire set victory to take the match. The Tigers opened the frame on a 5-0 run, which burned through one of the Wildcats’ timeouts. UNH finally got on the scoreboard, but LSU was ahead 8-2 when the teams switched sides. The Bayou Bengals did not look back as they only let the Wildcats come within four points at 10-6 before ending the set on a 5-2 run to win it, 15-8. LSU hit .357 in the set and held UNH below a .150 hitting percentage for the third consecutive set (.118).

Up Next

LSU retakes the floor at 7 p.m. CT against Maryland to end the opening day of the 2024 season. SEC Network + will stream the match.

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