Volleyball Splits Weekend Road Matches, Falls 3-1 at Georgia

ATHENS, Ga. – Outside hitter Jurnee Robinson tallied her ninth double-double and 20-kill performance of the season, but LSU dropped a hard-fought match against Georgia, 3-1 (25-19, 21-25, 32-34, 21-25) Sunday afternoon at Stegeman Coliseum.

LSU moves to 12-8 on the season and 4-5 in the SEC, while Georgia improves to 9-9 overall and 3-5 in league play.

The Tigers led the Bulldogs in every offensive category, hitting .253 on 62 kills and had 10 aces for the second consecutive match. Defensively, LSU finished with 10 blocks for the second time this weekend and dug 62 balls, while Georgia recorded 12 blocks and 65 digs.  

Robinson finished with 24 kills on a .354 hitting percentage and led the team with 16 digs while contributing four blocks and two aces. It was Robinson’s second 20-kill performance in as many matches. Middle blocker Jessica Jones followed with 14 kills, hit .323 on the day, and had a team-high five blocks with two aces.

Setter Bailey Ortega put together back-to-back double-double matches with 45 assists and 10 digs, and libero Aly Kirkhoff had 14 digs and a career-high four aces in the setback. Outside hitters Lainee Pyles and AC Froehlich each registered an ace and finished with nine and six kills, respectively, and Froehlich ended the game with 10 digs, totaling four Tigers with double-digit digs.

UGA’s Erykah Lovett led the team with 18 kills and added 14 digs, Bianna Muoneke finished with 13 kills and 12 digs, and MK Patten had 11 kills and four blocks in the win.

Set 1

UGA led early at 8-4 before LSU rattled off eight consecutive points for a 12-8 advantage and stretched its margin to 16-10 thanks to an overall 12-2 run, forcing the Bulldogs to use both of their timeouts. The Tigers did not let off the gas as their lead grew to 23-15 behind an overall 19-7 run and took the opening set, 25-19. LSU held UGA to a .033 hitting percentage thanks to three blocks and 14 digs, and five Tigers finished with multiple kills led by Jones’ five. Middle blocker Angelina Lee had three blocks and Kirkoff had three aces in the set.

Set 2

The Tigers called a timeout trailing 11-8 in hopes of slowing down the Bulldogs’ 6-1 run, but the home team kept the momentum and led 18-11 when LSU called its final timeout of the set. The Fighting Tigers pulled within two points at 23-21, but the Bulldogs held on for a 25-21 victory after two kills.    

Set 3

The Bulldogs took a 6-5 lead behind a 3-0 run, and later, five consecutive points for UGA ballooned the lead to 12-8, forcing LSU to call a timeout. The Tigers responded with a 6-0 run to regain a 14-12 lead and led 18-15 after an ace from Robinson, encouraging Georgia to call its second timeout. UGA rallied back and took a 22-21 lead after a 5-0 run. From there, the clubs tied 10 more times, and although LSU fought off set point four times, Georgia ultimately pulled out a 34-32 win to take a 2-1 match lead. The third set totaled 18 ties and 12 lead changes.

Set 4

Georgia scored four of the first five points in the set and led 11-6 when LSU called a timeout. The Bulldogs were the first to 15 with a 15-10 margin and pressured LSU to use its final timeout with an 18-12 lead. LSU scored the following four points out of the break and pulled within one point at 20-19, but two net violations by the Tigers sparked UGA’s 4-0 run to bring the count to 24-19. Although LSU did fight off two match points, another LSU error gave Georgia the 25-21 victory.

Up Next

LSU returns to the Pete Maravich Assembly Center on Sunday, Nov. 3, to face Alabama at 1 p.m. CT on SEC Network +.   

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