BATON ROUGE, La. – The LSU volleyball team fell to Mississippi State 3-1 (25-20, 18-25, 16-25, 21-25) on Friday night at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
LSU drops to 10-12 on the season and 3-8 in the SEC, while Mississippi State improves to 15-6 and 5-6 in league matches.
The Tigers were held to a .179 hitting percentage on 50 kills and finished with three aces. Defensively, LSU had seven blocks and 69 digs. The Bulldogs turned in a .243 hitting percentage on 56 kills with two aces and concluded the match with nine blocks and 67 digs.
A trio of Tigers recorded double-doubles in the loss. Outside hitters Jurnee Robinson and Nia Washington turned in their 10th and fifth double-doubles this season, respectively. Robinson had 18 kills and 11 digs, and finished with two blocks, and Washington had 16 kills and 12 digs with one block. Freshman setter Takyla Brown registered her fourth double-double of the season with 18 assists and a season-high 13 digs. Brown also had her first block of the season.
Right side Tireh Smith hit an efficient .318 from the floor with nine kills on 22 swings with two errors and contributed three blocks. Middle blocker Jessica Jones led the team with six blocks and two aces to go along with four kills, and defensive specialist Aly Kirkhoff had 11 digs in the match.
Set 1
LSU held a 9-7 lead thanks to a 4-0 run and went into the media timeout with a 15-14 lead. The Bulldogs signaled for their first timeout with the Tigers ahead 18-15 and burned their final timeout with the home team up 22-19. LSU went on to win the opening set 25-20. The Tigers held MSU to a .075 hitting percentage thanks to two team blocks and 23 digs. Offensively, LSU was led by Robinson’s six kills on a .385 hitting percentage, Washington followed with five kills, and Jones landed three kills, served two aces and added a couple of blocks.
Set 2
The Tigers called their first timeout of the match, trailing the Bulldogs 8-4, and called their final timeout down 16-11. LSU pulled within two points at 17-15 behind a 4-1 run, forcing MSU to call a timeout, but that would be as close as the score would be as the visiting club evened the match with a 25-18 victory, ending on a 3-0 run.
Set 3
Mississippi State jumped out to a 5-2 lead, but LSU scored three unanswered points for a 10-9 lead change. However, the Bulldogs held a 15-12 advantage at the media timeout and were on top 17-14 when LSU called a timeout. The Tigers used their final timeout facing a 20-16 deficit, but dropped the set 25-16.
Set 4
LSU tied the frame at 11, courtesy of a 3-0 run, and the teams proceeded to exchange points all the way to 21-21. From there, Mississippi State’s Lindsey Mangelson took over with four consecutive kills to win the set 25-21. Mangelson had a match-high 23 kills.
Up Next
LSU challenges Ole Miss next at 1 p.m. CT on Sunday, Nov. 1. Sunday will be Senior Day at LSU, where the team will honor pin hitters Ana Tevdoradze and Nia Washington.
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