BATON ROUGE, The. – The 2022 Tiger Classic concluded with the LSU Volleyball team coming off a thrilling five-set match against Rice on Saturday at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center (PMAC).
LSU (1-2) won the opening set 25-13 before Rice (3-0) took the second and third sets 25-18 and 25-16, respectively. The Tigers rallied with a 25-21 fourth-set win to force the first five sets of the season, but dropped the deciding set 15-12 that featured nine ties and several lead changes.
“Obviously it’s tough to lose in five sets when you put yourself in that situation to win the match, but I thought our kids showed an incredible amount of grit today,” coach Tonya Johnson said. “We will bounce back from this and continue to learn and grow from it.”
Both clubs hit .171 on the day with LSU winning the battle 60-54 overall, and both served well with Rice dishing out seven aces to LSU’s six. The Tigers also outrebounded the Owls 81-77 in digs, but Rice won the battle at the net as they recorded 14 blocks to LSU’s nine.
Outside hitter Sanaa Dotson matched an LSU career high of 21 kills with a .319 hitting percentage and turned in a career-high three aces. She was one shy of a double-double and finished with a block. Right side Hannah Jacobs totaled 13 kills and had a team-best seven blocks, while outside hitter Samarah Hill had 12 kills, nine digs and an ace. Setter Josie Vondran had 38 assists in the game and freshman setter Maddie Waak had 13 assists. Defensively, libero Ella Larkin led all players with 34 digs, and middle blocker Anita Anwusi had five blocks to go along with six kills.
“We had a great start to the season beating Samford, but it was also disappointing to lose to Houston in such an electric atmosphere,” said Coach Johnson. “We had our chances in that game [Houston] but we didn’t take advantage of the opportunities. You don’t want to start a season 1-2, but we saw some great things today from our team, which is still weaving itself together. We have a lot of work to do, but we will continue to work and strengthen mentally because we have skills and talent”.
Set 1
- Rice was burned on both of his early interceptions as LSU sprinted out to a 13-5 lead.
- The Tigers continued to roll in the opening set and won 25-13 behind a .375 hitting percentage. LSU’s defense held Rice to a .071 hitting percentage and recorded four blocks.
- Dotson and Hill led the Tigers with four kills apiece, while Anwusi chipped in four blocks in the frame.
Set 2
- Rice took a 4-1 lead and led 7-4 when LSU decided to use its first timeout.
- The Tigers cut Rice’s lead to two at 11-9, but the Owls scored six of the next nine points to make it 17-12, forcing LSU to take the final timeout of the set.
- LSU stayed resilient and put together a 4-1 run, making it 20-17, but Rice closed out the set with a 5-1 run and won 25-18 to tie the match.
Set 3
- The visiting club jumped out and held a four-point lead to lead LSU 12-8 before the Tigers called a timeout. The Owls continued to build their lead and extended their lead to 16-10 when LSU used the final timeout of the set.
- Rice’s lead grew to 10 points and eventually won the set, 25-16.
Set 4
- LSU started the set hot with a 6-3 advantage on a 3-0 run. The Tigers held a 15-11 lead at media time.
- Late in the set, Rice used a 4-1 run to tie the set at 20, which forced LSU into a timeout. Out of the break, Rice hit a kill to take the first lead of the set, but kills by Dotson and Jacobs put LSU back on top 22-21 and Rice called the first timeout.
- After the break, Rice committed an attack error and Dotson grabbed her third ace of the match to give the home team a 24-21 lead. Rice called their final timeout, but another offensive miscue by the visiting team gave LSU a 25-21 win to force a fifth set.
Set 5
- LSU was down early but clawed its way back to an 8-7 lead before switching sides.
- The Tigers’ lead grew to 9-7 thanks to four unanswered points, but Rice broke a 3-0 lead to regain the lead, 10-9.
- Dotson found the floor again with a kill to tie the match at 10. After both teams traded a pair of points, Rice pulled away with back-to-back kills and a block to seal the 15-12 set win for Rice.
The next one
LSU will host the Tiger Challenge Sept. 2-3, hosting Troy, Iowa State and No. 20 Penn State.
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