LSU Offense Powers Past Alabama for 3-1 Victory

BATON ROUGE, La. – The LSU volleyball team pulled out a tight match behind a solid offensive performance in front of 2,162 fans as it defeated Alabama, 3-1 (21-25, 25-23, 25-22, 26-24) Sunday afternoon at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

With the win, LSU improves to 13-8 on the season and 5-5 in SEC play, while Alabama drops to 10-11 and 2-8 in league matches. Sunday’s attendance was the fifth largest in program history and the third match this season to enter the top 10 attendance records.

The Tigers hit .307 in the match on 64 kills and had six aces in the win. It is the fourth time LSU has hit .300 or better and is undefeated when doing so. It was also the fifth match with 60 or more kills and the second in as many matches. Defensively, LSU had seven blocks and 66 digs. It is the 10th time LSU has registered 60 or more digs this season.  

Outside hitter Jurnee Robinson concluded the game with her 10th double-double of the season and had her 10th 20-kill performance, finishing with 23 kills, 12 digs, three blocks and an ace for 26.0 points. Middle blocker Angelina Lee stole the night with a career-high 19 kills on a .562 hitting percentage and led the team with five blocks. Freshman middle blocker Jessica Jones landed 10 kills and hit .455 in the match on 22 errorless swings. LSU’s middle blockers hit .519 on 29 kills with one error on 54 attacks.

“Our middles were phenomenal today,” said head coach Tonya Johnson. “Both Jess [Jones] and Angie [Lee] had double-digit kills for us. They were unbelievable. Finding a way to get the ball to our middles has been huge for us this season. As long as they continue to put the ball away, we’ll keep feeding them.”

Setter Bailey Ortega tallied her third consecutive double-double with 47 assists and 12 digs and had two kills, one ace and one block. Outside hitter AC Froehlich had a team-high 14 digs to go along with her four kills and two blocks, and libero Aly Kirkhoff contributed 11 digs, a team-best two aces and dished out six assists.

Three players from Alabama finished with double-digit kills, beginning with outside hitters Sophie Agee’s 19 and Paris Thompson’s 14, and middle blocker Jordyn Towns’ 11 (.346 hitting percentage).

Set 1

Bama built an early 6-3 lead behind a 4-0 run, and although LSU pulled within one point on a couple of occasions, the Crimson Tide held a 15-12 lead at the media timeout. The Tigers scored four of the next six points out of the break but were forced to use their first timeout, trailing 20-17 and their final down 23-20. Alabama went on to win the set, 25-21.  

Set 2

LSU got off to a 6-2 start and held its edge at 15-12 by the official timeout. However, Alabama later rattled off five unanswered points to tie the set at 17, encouraging LSU to call a timeout. After the clubs exchanged points to a 23-23 tie, Robinson ended the set with back-to-back kills, giving LSU a 25-23 win to even the match. Lee and Robinson led the Tigers with five kills each, hitting .455 and .333, respectively. The Tigers also aced the Tide four times in the frame.  

Set 3

Initially, the third set was tight as LSU led 15-13 after six ties and three lead changes. The Tigers began to pull away by expanding their lead to 19-15 when Alabama burned a timeout. The Bayou Bengals led by as many as seven points at 24-17, and after Bama fought off five consecutive points to pull within two at 24-22, Robinson sealed the set again with her 19th kill of the match. LSU hit .432 in the set on 18 kills, led by Robinson’s seven kills and .357 hitting percentage. Lee and pin hitter Ana Tevdoradze split six kills evenly, and Lee had a pair of blocks.

Set 4

LSU used an early timeout as Alabama scored six unanswered points for an 11-5 lead. The Tigers began to build some momentum and tied the set at 13 behind a 5-0 run, and the teams continued to go back and forth to a 20-20 score. LSU took its first lead at 21-20 with an ace by Jones, but Bama scored the following two points to regain a 22-21 advantage and forced an LSU timeout. Alabama called timeout after two immediate LSU points to give the home team a 23-22 lead. Bama took a 24-23 lead out of the break, but the Tigers ended the match with a 3-0 run featuring two kills from Lee and a block combo from Lee and Robinson. Lee took over the set as she accounted for LSU’s final five points. She finished with a set-high seven kills on nine swings with one error and added two blocks.

Up Next

LSU will get back on the road with matches at Tennessee (Nov. 8) and No. 14 Kentucky (Nov. 10). The LSU-Tennessee match will be streamed on SEC Network+ at 5:30 p.m. CT, while LSU and Kentucky will go to battle on SEC Network at 3:30 p.m. CT.   

To support LSU volleyball student-athletes through Bayou Traditions, click here, or to contribute to the Volleyball Excellence Fund, click here. 

For the latest news and information on Tiger volleyball, visit www.lsusports.net/volleyball. Fans can follow the team on its social media outlets, such as www.facebook.com/lsuvolleyball and @lsuvolleyball, Instagram, and X.