Volleyball Responds with 3-1 Win Over Samford

WACO, Texas – The LSU volleyball team tallied 14 blocks, holding Samford to a .141 hitting percentage in a 3-1 (25-21, 25-23, 23-25, 25-23) bounce-back victory to conclude the Baylor Invitational at the Ferrell Center. It is the second time this season that LSU reached double figures in blocks. 

LSU improves to 6-2 on the season and hands Samford its first loss to move to 5-1.

Three Tigers finished with double-digit kills. Outside hitter Lainee Pyles led the way with 14 kills on a .312 hitting percentage and finished with four blocks – all season highs. Pyles took over the match in the final two sets with 12 kills, including seven in the fourth. Middle blocker Angelina Lee matched a career-high 10 kills for the third time this season and set a new career-best with eight blocks, including two solo blocks. Jade Demps also recorded 10 kills on the right side and added six digs and one block. 

Setter Bailey Ortega notched her third double-double this season with 38 assists and 13 digs and matched her season-high of four kills to go along with three blocks. Middle blocker Jessica Jones filled the stats sheet with nine kills, seven digs, six blocks, and a match-high two aces, while libero Aly Kirkhoff registered her first 20-dig performance, leading all players with 26 digs. 

Outside hitter Kaleigh Meritt led Samford with 18 kills on a .348 hitting percentage and had two aces and two blocks.

Set 1

LSU used a 3-0 run to build a 6-3 lead, but Samford answered with its own 3-0 run and took its first lead at 10-9. The Tigers pieced together another 6-3 run, highlighted by four unanswered points, to regain the lead at 15-13 at the media timeout. However, the Tigers needed to call their first timeout as the Bulldogs took a 20-19 lead. LSU scored the first three points out of the break and went on a 5-1 run highlighted by two kills from Demps, burning through both of Samford’s timeouts for a 24-21 lead. Jones landed her second kill of the set to win it for the Tigers, 25-21. Lee led LSU with four kills on seven swings with no errors, and Demps and outside hitter AC Froehlich followed with three kills each.

Set 2

The Bayou Bengals jumped out to another early lead at 6-1 but needed to take a timeout as the Bulldogs returned the favor, tying the set, 7-7, and took the lead at 8-7 to complete a 4-0 run. With the score tied, 10-10, LSU rattled off four consecutive points featuring back-to-back blocks by Lee for a 14-10 advantage. Samford fought back, and both clubs tied six more times to 23-23, but a kill by Lee and a combo block with Lee and Demps ended the set 25-23, giving LSU a 2-0 match lead.  

Set 3

Samford scored the opening three points and forced LSU to call a timeout as it trailed 7-4. The Tigers pulled within two points at 11-9 behind a 4-0 run, but the Bulldogs stretched its lead to 18-13, pressuring the Tigers to call their final timeout of the stanza. LSU went on an impressive 10-4 run that featured a 5-0 run with a pair of kills from Pyles, but Samford got on the board with a 25-23 win, forcing a fourth set.

Set 4

LSU took an 11-7 lead thanks to a 4-0 run highlighted by two kills from Pyles. The Tigers were the first to 15 and led by as many as five points at 18-13 before the Bulldogs went on a 3-0 run to force them into a timeout as they held tightly to an 18-16 lead. Samford’s run continued and eventually tied the set at 23. However, a kill by Pyles gave the LSU match point, and Samford committed an attacking error to end the Tigers’ set, 25-23. Pyles dominated the set with seven kills on a .545 hitting percentage, Ortega handed out 11 assists and Kirkhoff dug 10 balls in the set. 

Up Next

LSU returns to the Pete Maravich Assembly Center to host Boston College, North Florida, and San Diego from Sept. 19 to 20.

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