The Texas A&M volleyball team fell to LSU in five sets Thursday at Reed Arena.
“They tried to give it to us,” head coach Laurie Corbelli said. “We just didn’t want to take it badly enough I guess. I really don’t have a whole lot of answers. I’m really sorry, but I just don’t have a lot of answers. We lost the match, and it was on our side of the net.”
With the win, the Tigers (15-7, 10-3 SEC) preserve their winning streak and have now won 10 straight matches. After the 20-25, 25-16, 25-9, 22-25, 15-13 loss, the Aggies (15-8, 7-5 SEC) have dropped two of their last three.
The beginning of the first set started slow for the Aggies as LSU went up 4-1. A series of blocks and a kill by sophomore middle blocker Jazzmin Babers — who is ranked first in the SEC in hitting percentage — helped the Aggies to tie the game and eventually gain a four-point advantage.
The second set saw the Tigers pull away early after four ties, and at 11-6 Corbelli called a timeout. LSU would cruise to the end of the set but Sullivan ended the frame with eight kills.
In the third set, LSU’s Briana Holman had the Tigers first three kills to put them ahead 7-3. The Aggies would only muster two more points as LSU took a 2-1 lead.
“There’s a lot of luck involved in sports,” Corbelli said. “Things started going our way and we took advantage of that, but we lost the match in set two and three when we literally quit playing.”
A&M battled back to take the fourth set after falling behind early. A mixture of kills by Aiple, Sullivan and junior outside hitter Angel Lowak brought A&M within one point of LSU’s lead at 10-9. The two teams fought to a tie 18-18, but A&M would edge the Tigers and force a decisive fifth set.
The Aggies found themselves in a 10-4 hole to begin the fifth set, and LSU claimed the final set by a two-point margin and with it the match.
“Physically, the effort, they’re a wonderful team,” Corbelli said. “They’ll give whatever we ask them to give, but I think it’s the mental effort, mental toughness, confidence, belief, faith, trust — all those things that must be in a team, those things can’t ever leave, and I think they drift in and out of our team sometimes when the going gets tough.”
The Aggies will take the court again at 1 p.m. Sunday in Reed Arena as they host Ole Miss (20-5, 6-5 SEC).
Junior middle blocker Shelby Sullivan serves during the first set against LSU Thursday in Reed Arena.
Photo by Tanner Garza.