In the third and final leg of its road trip, Texas A&M volleyball looked to extend its winning streak to four as it traveled to the Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana to take on the LSU Tigers on Sunday.
The Aggies gave a convincing effort behind junior opposite hitter Logan Lednicky’s 17 kills and LSU transfer setter Maddie Waak’s 43 assists and 13 digs but were ultimately downed by the Tigers in five sets, 3-2.
The Aggies started the match on a high note. After a kill by the Tigers’ sophomore outside hitter Jurnee Robinson to take the first point of the match, A&M went on a 10-5 scoring streak to take control of the first set. Lednicky recorded five kills in this set alone to shift the momentum in favor of the Aggies.
With back-to-back-to-back kills from junior middle blocker Ifenna Cos-Okpalla and junior OH Taylor Humphrey and Lednicky, respectively, in a 5-0 streak, the Maroon and White were able to run away with the first set, 25-18.
The second set was a whole different story. While A&M looked to be in control for the majority of the first set, LSU jumped out to an early lead after a kill by Robinson put it up, 5-2. The Aggies battled back to even the set at 6 after a kill by junior MB Morgan Perkins.
However, after this spurt, the Tigers went on a 9-3 run and took all momentum away from the Aggies. While the Maroon and White struggled to regroup, the Tigers took advantage of 12 Aggie errors to steal the second set, 25-14.
The third set started off going back and forth as both teams split the first 26 points and were tied eight separate times. However, after two kills by Robinson, a service ace by freshman defensive specialist Aly Kirkhoff and multiple A&M errors, LSU was able to break open a lead and never look back. The Tigers recorded 13 kills and had four service aces to claim the third set, 25-20.
A&M needed to win the fourth set to stay alive. With new determination, the Aggies jumped out to a 9-5 lead after back-to-back attack errors from the Tigers’ freshman OH Lainee Pyles.
The rest of the set was all the Maroon and White as they recorded 15 kills and three service aces in the fourth set alone. After LSU attempted a rally with back-to-back points, Lednicky erased its comeback hopes with a kill to send this match to a deciding set, 25-14.
The fifth set started like the others as both teams split the first 8 points. However, after three kills by Robinson, a kill by sophomore MB Angelina Lee and an A&M attack error, the Tigers went on a 7-2 run to take an 11-6 lead over the Aggies.
The Maroon and White attempted a comeback after Waak and Hellmuth recorded kills, but it wasn’t enough, as LSU walked away with a 15-10 victory.
The Aggies will be back in action as they travel home to host the No. 19 Florida Gators in Reed Arena on Friday at 8 p.m.
