LSU Wins Five-Set Match Versus Texas A&M, Sweeps Weekend Slate
LSU snaps TAMU's three-match winning streak while picking up its second win of the weekend. Outside hitter Jurnee Robinson led LSU with 23 kills and had 11 digs and three blocks in the five-set thriller.
BATON ROUGE, La. – LSU pulled away with a 9-2 run in the fifth set to defeat Texas A&M 3-2 (18-25, 25-14, 25-20, 14-25, 15-10) Sunday afternoon at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center to end a phenomenal weekend of LSU Athletics in the Capital City.
The Tigers logged their first SEC weekend sweep after taking care of Oklahoma in four sets Friday night. This improves their record to 11-6 and 3-3 in conference play. Texas A&M’s loss ended its three-match winning streak and moved them to 12-3 on the season and 3-2 in the SEC.
“First off, Texas A&M is a very good team. I just thought our players came out tonight and executed the game plan, and we battled,” said head coach Tonya Johnson. “The biggest thing was the serving-pass game. I thought we served really well and passed really well. It kept us in the match. We put a lot of pressure on them from the service line and were able to maintain that for the entire match. They were out of system a lot, and that is great for us.”
The young LSU team put together a solid match where it trailed only three times against a veteran and physical Texas A&M team. The Fighting Tigers outhit the Aggies .232-.187 and had seven aces in the match. Sunday was the seventh time LSU had held its opponent under a .200 hitting percentage in a match this season, primarily due to its 12 blocks. LSU has recorded 12 blocks in two of the last three matches and has had 10 or more blocks in four games this season.
“This team is full of life and energy. I couldn’t be prouder of them and how they played today,” Johnson said. “Sometimes, we would take a big dip and work our way back up. I thought we played consistently in sets two and three. Set four, we took a little dip but got a bit of momentum going at the end of the fourth and carried it into the fifth, which helped us get the victory. I think we can do a better job of controlling our emotions in terms of not getting too high or too low. If we can learn how to be steady and consistent, I think that would be really good for my blood pressure. But in all seriousness, we are young and will have times like that. The question is, can we fight through that? I thought we did that today.”
Outside hitter Jurnee Robinson turned in her eighth double-double of the season with 23 kills and 11 digs and added three blocks for a match-high 24.5 points. Robinson hit .327 in the match as she registered her seventh 20-kill match this season.
Right side Jade Demps followed with nine kills on a .350 hitting percentage, matched a career-high three aces, and added one block and six digs. Setter Bailey Ortega stuffed the stats sheet with 41 assists, nine digs, three blocks, one ace and one kill, and middle blocker Jessica Jones had 10 blocks and seven kills in the win. Jones has two matches this season with 10 or more blocks. Libero Aly Kirkhoff also had two aces for the second consecutive match and contributed 10 digs.
TAMU had three pin hitters reach double-digit kills, beginning with Logan Lednicky’s 17, Taylor Humphrey’s 14, and Emily Hellmuth’s 12.
Set 1
Texas A&M opened the match with a 10-6 lead, and after a 3-0 run by LSU, the Aggies went on a 6-0 run to increase their margin to 16-9. LSU chipped away at the lead with a 4-1 run, but A&M reeled off five unanswered points and ultimately won the set 25-18, outlasting a 5-3 Tiger run to conclude the set.
Set 2
LSU scored the set’s first three points and kept the momentum, using a 6-1 run to grab a 12-7 lead to force a TAMU timeout. The Aggies called their final timeout when the Tigers stretched their lead to 19-12, but the home team’s momentum continued as they increased their advantage and won the set 25-14 win. LSU’s offense hit .393 with 11 kills on 28 errorless swings and had two aces. The Tigers also had three blocks and held A&M to a -.029 hitting percentage. Robinson had four kills, and Demps had three.
Set 3
Both clubs tied seven times and had two lead changes before LSU created some space with a 10-5 scoring run, which brought the score to 23-18 and encouraged a late Texas A&M timeout. The Aggies scored the first two pints out of the break, but a kill by middle blocker Angelina Lee, followed by an ace from Demps gave LSU the 25-20 victory. Robinson put down six kills in the stanza and added one block, and Jones had four blocks to go along with three kills.
Set 4
The Tigers had to burn an early timeout as the Aggies jumped out to a 10-6 lead, and LSU used its final timeout when TAMU’s margin ballooned to eight at 18-10. A&M scored two points out of the timeout to go ahead 20-10 and cruised to a 25-14 win to force a fifth set.
Set 5
Each team traded points to a 4-4 tie. Robinson’s 20th kill of the afternoon sparked a 3-0 run to put LSU ahead 7-4, forcing a TAMU timeout. LSU led 8-4 when the clubs switched benches, and a kill by Robinson capped a 5-0 run to give LSU a 9-4 lead. The Tigers expanded their lead to 13-6 thanks to an overall 9-2 run before the Aggies cut the lead to 13-9 after a 3-0 run. After LSU’s timeout, Robinson found the floor for her final kill of the match, and two points later was Jones’ finishing kill, securing a 15-10 win. Robinson had another errorless set with four kills on nine swings for a .444 hitting percentage, and outside hitter AC Froehlich came up big with a set-high two blocks. The Tigers outhit the Aggies .400-.115 in the final set.
Up Next
LSU returns to the court at noon CT on Sunday, Oct. 20 against No. 19 Florida at the PMAC, airing on ESPN2.
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