BATON ROUGE, The. – LSU turned the tables late and handed Auburn its first loss of the 2023 season in five sets (25-22, 20-25, 20-25, 25-21, 15-12) Wednesday night at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
After taking the first set 25-22, LSU (10-6, 4-2 SEC) dropped the next two frames 25-20 and trailed 14-6 in the fourth set before a 12-4 run by the home team turned things around match complex. Auburn (14-1, 3-1 SEC) dropped the fourth set 25-21 and the Fighting Tigers took the fifth set 15-12 to complete the comeback.
The LSU Tigers have gone five-set matches in five of their last six contests since the start of SEC play and have lost just one of those matches. The win improves LSU’s winning streak against Auburn to seven and is now 26-5 in head-to-head meetings against Auburn in Baton Rouge.
“I couldn’t be more proud of a team to be of this team,” coach Tonya Johnson said. “The grit and fight we showed was unbelievable. We could have been down in the fourth set, but we decided we wanted to come back and we wanted to compete. We wanted to finish, and we did. The execution at the end of set four and in set five was just top-notch volleyball. I’m super proud of them and I hope this is a win that confirms what a good team we can be if we put our minds to it and focus on what needs to be done.”
The Fighting Tigers held AU to a .196 hitting percentage, making them the ninth opponent this season to hit under .200. LSU totaled 10 blocks in the game and had 82 turnovers. Offensively, LSU hit .202 in the match behind 60 kills on 57 assists and had five assists.
Outside hitter Sanaa Dotson had her fifth double-double of the season with 22 kills and 13 digs. It was her fifth game with 20 or more kills, and she added three blocks in the win. Outside hitter Paige Flickinger followed with a double-double of her own as she tallied 11 kills and 11 digs with two aces. Right side Hannah Jacobs had 10 kills behind a .333 hitting percentage and had a block.
Middle blocker Anita Anwusi led LSU with six blocks and added seven kills, while defensive specialist Jill Bohnet posted a career-high 24 in the win. Libero Ella Larkin completes a list of four Tigers with 10 or more digs with 16 and had an ace.
Setters Josie Vondran and Maddie Waak led the offense well. Vondran was just shy of a double-double as she dished out 30 assists and finished with five blocks and three kills. Waak had 21 assists and matched Flickinger’s two aces.
Set 1
- LSU jumped out to a 9-4 lead thanks to a 5-0 run to force Auburn into a timeout.
- The Fighting Tigers were up 15 and despite Auburn cutting the deficit to one point at 15-14, the home team extended its lead to 20-16 when Auburn called its second timeout.
- Auburn pulled back within a point, but LSU closed out the set with a pair of kills from Dotson and won the opening set, 25-22.
- Anwusi and Flickinger lead the LSU Tigers with four kills each, followed by three kills from Dotson and Vondran.
Set 2
- The LSU Tigers led 15-13 at halftime, but Auburn tied the game at 18 when LSU called for time.
- Auburn went on a 4-0 run and led 20-18 when LSU called the final timeout of the set. The visiting club used a 9-2 overall run to close out the set, highlighted by seven unanswered points, and tied the match 1-1 after a 25-20 set victory.
Set 3
- Auburn’s momentum continued into the third as LSU took a timeout to trail 9-6. LSU used the final timeout with the score 18-13.
- LSU went on a 4-1 run down the stretch to make it 19-17, but Auburn held the advantage and won the set 25-20.
Set 4
- LSU was up 10-6 when they elected to burn the first timeout of the set and Auburn increased its lead to 14-6 when LSU called their final timeout.
- The Purple and Gold reeled off a 6-2 run to force Auburn into a timeout while cutting the deficit, 16-12. The run continued for LSU, however, and the home team tied the set at 18 after another 6-2 run highlighted by five unanswered points.
- After Auburn burned the final timeout, the clubs traded points until a Flickinger kill sparked a 3-0 run to make it 22-20, LSU. The LSU Tigers went on to end the set on a 3-1 run and won the frame 25-21.
- LSU hit .366 in the set and was led by an impressive nine kills on 15 errorless swings from Dotson (.600). LSU also managed four blocks in the stanza.
Set 5
- LSU jumped out to a 5-1 lead forcing Auburn into a timeout and used a 7-0 run overall to build an 8-1 margin when the teams switched sides.
- The Fighting Tigers went on an 8-0 run before AU scored its next point, but a 4-0 run by the visiting club made it 9-5 and LSU called a timeout.
- Auburn got within three points at 10-7, but a pair of kills by Dotson pushed LSU’s lead to 12-7 when Auburn called its final timeout. AU made another comeback attempt though and used a 3-0 run to make it 13-11 when LSU called its final timeout.
- After the break, Flickinger hit a kill, Auburn responded with a layup and Jacobs sealed the match with a layup to end the set 15-12.
- Dotson continued to stay hot as she led LSU with four kills and two blocks in the deciding set.
The next one
LSU will hit the road for a weekend series in Florida Oct. 8-9.
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