Volleyball Swept by Missouri in SEC Opener

BATON ROUGE, La. – For the first time this season, the LSU volleyball team (8-4, 0-1 SEC) dropped consecutive matches as it fell 3-0 (22-25, 12-25, 19-25) to Missouri (9-3, 1-0 SEC) Friday night at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

Missouri held LSU to a .193 hitting percentage on 28 kills and had two aces, five blocks and 22 digs. Missouri hit .375 in the match and had 10 aces – both season-highs for an opponent against LSU. Mizzou, who extends its winning streak to six matches, also tallied 40 digs and five blocks.   

Outside hitter Jurnee Robinson led LSU with 13 kills and seven digs and added two blocks. Outside hitter Lainee Pyles followed with seven kills, had a team-high two aces and recorded one block. 

Setter Bailey Ortega handed out 24 assists, and middle blocker Jessica Jones had three blocks to lead the team.

Missouri’s outside hitter Mychael Vernon landed a match-high 17 kills and had a .640 hitting percentage. Vernon also had a match-high of three aces, logged one block, and had seven digs.

Set 1

Missouri scored the first three points of the match and put together another 3-0 run to go ahead 6-1, forcing LSU to take its first timeout. The Bayou Bengals fought back and used an 8-4 run to pull within one point at 20-19, but Mizzou clung to its lead and held a 22-19 edge when LSU called its final timeout and ultimately won the set 25-22.

Set 2

Both clubs traded points to a 6-6 tie, but Missouri scored seven of the following 10 points, highlighted by a 5-1 run to pressure LSU into a timeout trailing 13-9. Mizzou recorded an ace out of the break to cap a 4-0 run and ran away with the set 25-12 after closing the frame on a 7-2 run, scoring the final five points.  

Set 3

LSU held a slight 5-3 lead, but Missouri scored four consecutive points to gain a 7-5 lead and went into the media timeout on top, 15-13. A 4-1 run gave Mizzou a 19-14 lead, but LSU scored four of the next five points to pull within two points, 20-18. Missouri’s Vernon went on a personal 3-1 run with three kills to spark a 5-1 run to win the set, 25-19.  

Up Next

LSU will play its first SEC match against No. 8 Texas at 2 p.m. CT on Sunday, Sept. 29, at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center on SEC Network.

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