BATON ROUGE, The. – LSU Volleyball (3-3) dropped a closely contested match to No. 21 Penn State (6-0), 20-25, 24-26, 25-27 on Saturday at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center (PMAC) for closed 2022 Tiger Classic.
Saturday’s game against the Nittany Lions featured a total of 27 ties, seven lead changes and was decided by just nine points. The Tigers hit .222 on the day tallying 44 kills and nine blocks, while Penn State had a .233 hitting percentage behind 48 kills and recorded eight blocks and five aces.
“For whatever reason today, every time we got it going and got a run, we shot ourselves in the foot,” coach Tonya Johnson said. “We have to take pride in those pressure situations and I don’t think we did a good job of that today. But I saw a lot of great things and a lot of things we can build on to improve. Everything we struggled with today is fixable.”
Outside hitter Sanaa Dotson had her second double-double of the season with 13 kills and 15 digs. Dotson also finished with four blocks and two assists. Outside hitter Samarah Hill followed closely with 11 kills and recorded the team’s only ace of the match. Freshman Maddie Waak had 29 assists on the season and added eight digs and three kills. Defensively, the Tigers were led by Alia Williams’ six blocks, who also dished out five kills. Defensive specialist Jill Bohnet and libero Ella Larkin finished with 13 and 12 digs, respectively.
Penn State outside hitter Anjelina Starch had 13 kills and outside hitter Kashauna Williams had 11 kills and a .375 hitting percentage in the win. Setter Seleisa Elisaia and libero Maddy Bilinovic had 40 assists and 21 digs, respectively.
Set 1
- The Nittany Lions held a 9-5 lead when the Tigers called the first timeout of the game. LSU fought back and tied the score on four different occasions, but Penn State reeled off three straight points for a 19-16 lead when the home team used the final timeout of the set.
- PSU’s run continued and eventually closed out the frame on a 9-4 run to grab the 25-20 win in the set. It was the first time this season that the Tigers lost the first set.
- Dotson and Hill led LSU offensively with five kills apiece although LSU was outhit in the set, .306-.205.
Set 2
- LSU trailed 7-4 when it called a timeout to slow Penn State’s 3-0 run. The Tigers answered and used a 5-1 run to tie the score at 12 when PSU used its first timeout.
- The Tigers scored another block out of the break to take a 13-12 lead after four unanswered points. Penn State quickly regained the lead by scoring the next two points and from there the clubs were tied five times, including 21-21.
- The teams continued to trade kills in another 24-24 tie before Penn State recorded back-to-back kills for the 26-24 win. In total, the set contained 11 ties and a pair of lead changes.
Set 3
- A 4-0 run put the Tigers ahead 6-2 early, but the Nittany Lions took a 13-12 lead to force LSU to call a timeout.
- PSU extended its lead to 19-15 when LSU called its final timeout, but the Tigers answered the challenge and scored the next three points to force the Nittany Lions into a long timeout as they grabbed a 19-18 lead.
- Hill continued the run for LSU with a run that tied the set at 19, and after two points for Penn State to take a 21-19 lead, LSU regained control of the lead with a 3-0 run, including a crafty kill from Larkin. that put the Tigers on top, 22-21.
- Both teams traded kills tied at 25, but an ace and a kill from Penn State ended the set 27-25 in favor of the road team.
The next one
LSU will travel to Milwaukee, Wisc. for a pair of games at Milwaukee (Sept. 9) and Marquette (Sept. 10).
Season tickets for the 2022 LSU volleyball season are now available. Fans interested in becoming a season ticket holder can get more information by clicking here. All tickets will be distributed via mobile devices for faster delivery of tickets to fans, contactless transactions at the gate and more flexibility for ticket holders. For more information on mobile tickets click here.
Support LSU Volleyball directly by contributing to the Volleyball Excellence Fund today!
For the latest news and information on Tiger volleyball, visit www.lsusports.net/volleyball. Fans can also follow the team on its social media at www.facebook.com/lsuvolleyball and @lsuvolleyball on Instagram and I tweet.
