Despite a double-double from senior outside hitter Hollann Hans, unranked LSU ended No. 25 Texas A&M’s six-game win streak.
Hans lead the team with 20 kills and added 11 digs for her 12th double-double of the season and her second in the same number of games.
Freshman opposite hitter Treyaunna Rush followed Hans with 12 kills.
Junior setter Camille Conner, senior libero Camila Gomez, and sophomore defensive specialist Allison Fields all tied for the team lead with 12 digs, while Conner also lead the team with 39 assists. Unfortunately, in a game that saw 31 ties and 12 lead changes, the Aggies lost a close match to LSU.
Though A&M went out to a 4-0 lead in the first set, LSU went on several scoring runs of its own to take a 19-12 lead over A&M. While junior middle blocker Makena Patterson and freshman outside hitter Lauren Davis gave the Aggies some momentum, it did not matter as LSU took the opening frame 25-19.
The Aggies opened the second set with another 4-0 run with kills from Hans and senior Camille Conner and an ace from Fields. However, this fast start was followed up with a multitude of errors that LSU took advantage of. With LSU leading 11-8, A&M went on a 5-1 run eventually tying the Tigers at 16. After three blocks that put LSU up 21-19, a kill by Hans and a block by Rush and Patterson tied the set at points 21 and 22; however, LSU came out on top to win the frame 25-23.
The beginning of the third set was as tightly contested as the end of the second, and it took back-to-back kills from Rush and Conner to give the Aggies a 12-11 lead. A 3-0 run helped give A&M a 17-13 lead. Conner reeled off four consecutive serves toward the end of the set, extending the Aggies’ lead to 22-15. An LSU attacking error sealed A&M’s set win, 25-17.
A&M led at the beginning of the fourth set, but lost the lead after back-to-back kills by the Tigers. Though A&M led once more in the middle of the set, LSU continued its early momentum to clinch the win 25-23.
After the loss to the Tigers, coach Laura “Bird” Kuhn said volleyball is a game of momentum, and the Aggies were unable to garner substantial momentum.
“LSU came out and got rolling and I think they went with that throughout the match,” Kuhn said. “That’s just taking care of execution on our side. Offensively, we needed to execute at a higher level and find ways to get kills.”
The Aggies will next take the court against Auburn at 8 p.m. on Wednesday.