Volleyball Rallies to Knock Off Oklahoma, 3-1
LSU recorded a season-high 11 aces and hit .305 in the match led by outside hitter Jurnee Robinson's 17 kills and three aces, and pin hitter Lainee Pyles' season-high 15 kills. The Tigers won their ninth consecutive match over the Sooners and third inside the PMAC.
BATON ROUGE, La. – LSU rallied from behind in nearly every set to earn a 3-1 (22-25, 25-22, 26-24, 25-22) win over Oklahoma Friday night at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
LSU improves to 10-6 on the season and 2-3 in the SEC with this win. OU falls to 7-6 and 1-4 in league play. The Tigers extend their winning streak against the Sooners to nine and are 3-0 in the series when playing OU at home.
“The common theme tonight was ‘woman up.’ We played come-from-behind volleyball in all four sets today and were able to gut it out at the end, show some grit, and finish,” said head coach Tonya Johnson. “More importantly, I saw them show some confidence from the service line when we needed them to put pressure on the opponent.”
LSU hit .305 on 50 kills, turned in a season-high 11 aces, and logged six blocks for 67 points. Oklahoma outhit the Tigers with a .312 percentage on 55 kills and had 9.5 blocks with eight aces for 72.5 points in the match.
Outside hitter Jurnee Robinson led the Tigers with 17 kills, three aces, three blocks and eight digs. All three of Robinson’s blocks were solo blocks, registering a new career-high for the sophomore. Outside hitter Lainee Pyles set a new season-best with 15 kills and hit .423 in the match, marking the second time in three matches that the true freshman has recorded a hitting percentage over .400.
Right side Jade Demps had a productive night with eight kills on a .467 hitting percentage, two aces, two blocks and two assists, and setter Bailey Ortega distributed 41 assists and had one ace and one kill.
Outside hitter Alexis Shelton turned in a match-high 21 kills and four blocks for the Sooners, and outside hitter Kari Geissberger finished with 10 kills.
Set 1
LSU built a 7-3 lead behind a 6-0 run, but OU responded with a 9-3 burst, highlighted by two 4-0 runs. Oklahoma led 15-13 at the media break, and LSU called its first timeout down 19-16. The Sooners signaled for time despite leading 21-20 and held on to win the opening set 25-22.
Set 2
Neither team could establish a rhythm early, but Oklahoma held a 15-14 lead at the media timeout after eight ties and three lead changes. The Tigers kept the score close and trailed 22-20 before scoring the final five points of the frame to win the set 25-22. Two consecutive aces from libero Aly Kirkhoff gave the Tigers the late lead, and Pyles and Robinson led LSU with four kills. LSU hit .387 in the set, while OU hit .464.
Set 3
The Sooners forced the Tigers into an early timeout with a 10-5 lead, and LSU called its final timeout after Oklahoma increased its margin to 17-10. LSU got back in the set with a 5-0 run, and an overall 13-6 run that made the score 23-22, OU before the visiting club called for time. The Sooners scored the next point out of the break, but LSU fought off two set points to tie the set at 24 with two kills from Robinson. Coach Johnson subbed in freshman setter Shea Bruntmyer, and after an OU attacking error, Bruntmyer served her first career ace to win the set 26-24 and cap a 4-0 run. Robinson dominated the set with nine kills on a .429 hitting percentage and had two solo blocks. Both teams hit .286 in the set, but LSU registered four aces.
Set 4
Oklahoma jumped out to an 8-4 lead and led 15-13 at the media timeout. LSU rallied again by piecing together a 6-2 run, highlighted by four unanswered points to give the home team a 19-17 lead. The Tigers had to use a timeout with the Sooners tying the set at 22 with their backs against the wall, but another run by the Fighting Tigers ended the set after middle blocker Angelina Lee landed a kill, Robinson registered her third ace of the match, and an attacking error by OU sealed the stanza, 25-22. Pyles shined in the set with five kills on six errorless swings for a .833 hitting percentage.
Up Next
The LSU Tigers will play Texas A&M at 1 p.m. CT on Sunday, Oct. 13, on SEC Network +.
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