BRYAN COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The LSU volleyball team fell 3-0 to No. 8 Texas A&M Saturday afternoon by scores of 25-21, 25-22 and 25-14.
The Tigers will continue play on Sunday, October 18 when they square up against the Aggies once again at 3 p.m. CT. The match will air on the SEC Network
The Tigers are now 0-1 for the season while Texas A&M moves to 1-0.
Senior right-side hitter Taylor Bannister recorded match-highs kills and digs with 15 and 14, respectively. Sophomore outside hitter Samarah Hill added six kills and seven digs and a team-high three blocks. Sophomore setter Karli Rose had 18 assists.
Freshman outside hitter Paige Flickinger recorded the first two kills of her career and fellow freshmen outside hitter Dylan Maberry and middle blocker Alia Williams both saw their first action at LSU in the third set.
Texas A&M’s Camryn Ennis led the Aggies with 11 kills and 10 digs. Camille Connor had 11 assists and 13 digs. Karly Basham added 12 digs of her own.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Set One
- LSU got out to an early 5-4 lead in the first set with a kill from Whitney Foreman followed by an ace from Taylor Bannister.
- The Tigers had a 3-0 scoring run early to continue the lead over the Aggies, while Samarah Hill added crucial blocks for the Tigers to keep A&M off the board.
- A&M took the lead in the middle of the set, 15-13, over the Tigers but, Bannister responded with a block.
- The Tigers took their first timeout of the set on a 4-0 Aggies scoring run.
- Anita Anwusi recorded a kill to try and cut into the 20-17 Aggie lead.
- Bannister led a big rally late in the set to put the Tigers within two, 20-18. The Tigers tried to rally back late but fell short, 25-21.
Set Two
- In the second set Bannister added the first point to the board for the Tigers trying to close the early 3-1 A&M lead. Whitney Foreman tallied a huge kill for LSU to try and add some momentum while trailing 7-3.
- The Aggies took the lead, 9-4, forcing LSU to take their first timeout but Bannister tallied a kill to cut into TAMUlead.
- Emmaline Walters recorded a big ace to even the score at 12 in the middle of the set.
- Bannister recorded a kill from the back row to put LSU within two points of the Aggies, 17-15.
- The Tigers fought back hard late in the set with a kill from Bannister to take the lead for the first time, 22-21, but A&M closed out the set, 25-22, over the Tigers.
Set Three
- In the third set, A&M took the early 5-2 lead but Bannister soon added a kill to get some offense going in the set, making the score, 6-3.
- Allee Morris came through with a kill to add a Tigers point to the board, still trailing 8-5.
- Paige Flinkinger recorded her first career kill that put the score at 15-10.
- The Tigers couldn’t gain any ground and dropped the third set 25-14.
Coach Fran Flory‘s Thoughts
“I think we just played with the wrong approach. We didn’t come here to make things happen. We kind of started trying to let things happen. Our mentality was not where it needed to be. The bottom line is our communication needs to be better and our mentality needs to get better. Disappointing start for sure. The expectations were certainly higher than how we played today. Our offense did not ever get going and that’s a big concern. I thought we fought hard defensively. If the fight is in them, the offense will come. There are a lot things to get fixed within 24 hours, but we’ll get a lot fixed and we’ll be ready for tomorrow.”
Volleyball Social Center
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(Press Release Provided by LSU Athletics)