BATON ROUGE, La. – A total team effort helped the LSU volleyball team rally from a 2-1 deficit and knock off Auburn 3-2 (25-21, 14-25, 22-25, 25-20, 15-12) in its regular-season finale on Friday night at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
LSU moves back to .500 at 13-13 and finishes its SEC slate 6-9, and Auburn falls to 16-10 and 7-8 in league play.
For the second time this season, outside hitters Jurnee Robinson and Nia Washington led the LSU Tigers with 20-plus kill double-doubles, and five players concluded the match with 10 or more digs. The last time five players had 10-plus digs in a match for LSU was against Mississippi State on Oct. 20, 2022.
Although LSU was out-hit (.251-.243), the Bayou Bengals held the advantage in points (84-79) and kills (69-64). LSU had five aces in the match, finished with 10 blocks, marking the ninth time this season recording double-figure rejections, and had a season-high 84 digs.
Robinson landed 28 kills on a .339 hitting percentage, paced the team with two aces, had 12 digs and one block, and Washington matched a season-high 23 kills and had 11 digs and one block. It was Robinson’s 29th career double-double and 12th this season, and Washington’s 20th career double-double and seventh in the 2025 campaign. Freshman setter Takyla Brown had a breakout performance with 35 assists, eight digs and two blocks in just four sets played.
Setter Lauren Brooker and libero Aly Kirkhoff got in on the double-double action as well. Brooker tallied her third double-double of the season and second in as many matches with 18 assists and 10 digs, and also contributed one ace, one block and one kill. Kirkhoff registered her first career double-double with 15 digs and a career-high 11 assists. Kirkhoff also had one ace.
Defensive specialist Ella Hemmings had a career-high 15 digs and added an ace. Middle blocker Angelina Lee led all players with six blocks, including two solo blocks, and contributed six kills.
With the win, the Fighting Tigers improve to 6-2 in five-set matches this season and earn their seventh consecutive victory over Auburn inside the PMAC.
Set 1
There were six ties and five lead changes when Auburn went into the media timeout with a 15-14 edge over LSU. The Bayou Bengals took control of the set at 19-16 and forced an Auburn timeout thanks to a 5-0 run highlighted by three kills from Washington. LSU pushed its lead to 23-19 when Auburn burned its final timeout, and the home club took the opening set 25-21. LSU hit .324 on 17 kills and had four aces in the set. Washington led the way with eight kills on a .467 clip.
Set 2
LSU went on a 4-0 run to take its first lead of the set at 8-7, but called a timeout trailing 12-9 after Auburn’s 4-0 run. AU’s run continued to eight unanswered points when LSU used its final timeout down 16-9. It was an overall 16-5 run highlighted by a 9-0 burst by Auburn to give the visiting Tigers a 25-14 win to even the match.
Set 3
LSU took an early timeout down 8-3 and later faced a 15-9 deficit. The Fighting Tigers clawed their way back, coming within one point at 18-17 when Auburn called for time, and Washington’s kill capped a 4-0 run to tie the set at 18. However, Auburn never gave up the lead again and took a 2-1 match lead with a 25-22 win.
Set 4
Another tightly contested set saw LSU lead Auburn 15-14 at the media timeout, and the home team held a 20-15 edge when Auburn burned through both of its timeouts. LSU kept the momentum on its side, however, and forced a fifth set thanks to a 25-20 win. Robinson landed eight kills on 10 swings with no errors (.800) and had one ace, and Washington ended the set with six kills.
Set 5
LSU led 6-4 when Auburn called a timeout. Robinson took over the set, scoring LSU’s following six points on kills, giving LSU a 10-6 lead, but Auburn kept it close and tied the set at 12-12 behind a 3-0 run, forcing LSU to use both of its timeouts. With both teams out of timeouts, Brown and middle blocker Jessica Jones teamed up for a block. Washington converted on a back-row attack, and Brown and Jones sealed the deal with another block to win the set 15-12. Robinson erupted for six kills on a .364 hitting percentage in the frame.
Up Next
The SEC Volleyball Tournament makes its return for the first time since 2005. The tournament will take place from Nov. 21-25 at Enmarket Arena in Savannah, GA. The seeding for the 2025 Allstate SEC Volleyball Tournament will be released on Sunday.
For the latest news and information on Tiger volleyball, visit www.lsusports.net/volleyball. Fans can follow the team on its social media outlets at www.facebook.com/lsuvolleyball and @lsuvolleyball on Instagram and X.