BATON ROUGE, La. – The LSU volleyball team fell to No. 9 Texas A&M, 3-1 (25-22, 14-25, 22-25, 23-25) on Friday night at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
LSU (10-10, 3-6 SEC) had a fast start and defeated Texas A&M (16-3, 8-1 SEC) in the opening set but let off the gas in the second set before coming up short in competitive third and fourth stanzas.
The Tigers hit .123 on 46 kills and held the Aggies to a .222 hitting percentage thanks to seven blocks and 44 digs. A&M, who landed 48 kills and recorded 11 rejections, won the battle at the service line 5-3, and had 52 digs in the match.
Outside hitter Nia Washington paced LSU with 16 kills and nine digs, and outside hitter Jurnee Robinson followed with 12 kills, nine digs, and a solo block. Middle blocker Angelina Lee and right side Tireh Smith led the Tigers with four blocks each, and added eight and five kills, respectively.
Setter Lauren Brooker finished with 20 assists, eight digs, two kills, and two blocks, and libero Ella Hemmings knocked in a career-high three aces.
Set 1
LSU forced an A&M timeout after jumping out to a 13-8 lead. The Aggies fought back, and the Tigers signaled for time still leading 19-17, and both clubs called their final timeout of the set with LSU clinging to a 23-22 advantage. Washington closed the match, logging two kills out of the timeout, giving LSU a 25-22 victory. Washington led all players with five kills on 11 swings with one error for a .364 hitting percentage.
Set 2
The Tigers burned through both of their timeouts with the Aggies leading 15-7 thanks to six unanswered points. TAMU pushed its lead to 19-8 and ultimately ran away with the set, 25-14.
Set 3
LSU scored the first three points of the set, but A&M responded by scoring six of the following seven points to take a 6-4 lead. The Tigers later regained the lead at 10-9 after a 4-0 burst, and the Aggies called for time with LSU leading 13-11 after a kill by Robinson. Another Texas A&M run put the visiting club back in front, and LSU took both of its timeouts down 22-18 with A&M on a 4-0 run. The Fighting Tigers pulled within two points at 24-22, but the Aggies took a 2-1 match lead with a 25-22 win.
Set 4
A&M jumped out to an 8-3 lead, and LSU called a timeout behind 10-5. The Tigers chipped away at the lead and forced the Aggies into a timeout, still behind 11-9. LSU used its final timeout facing a 17-14 deficit. The Fighting Tigers rallied back, tying the set at 20 off a kill by Robinson, and the teams traded points to a 23-23 tie, but a pair of untimely errors gave Texas A&M the 25-23 victory.
Up Next
LSU will host No. 2 Texas at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 26, at the Maravich Center.
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