BATON ROUGE, La. – The No. 25 Texas A&M volleyball team fell to the LSU Tigers, 3-1 (25-19, 25-23, 17-25, 25-23) on Sunday afternoon at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. A&M drops to 17-6 overall and 9-4 in league play, while the Tigers improve to 13-10 and 7-6 in the SEC.
Senior outside hitter Hollann Hans registered her second straight double-double after logging 20 kills and 11 digs. Hans logs her 12th double-double of the season (83rd of her career), while registering her 19th consecutive match in double figures in kills.
Junior setter Camille Conner was outstanding in the match, also recording a double-double with 39 assists and 12 digs. This is Conner’s seventh double-double of the season (25th of her career).
Freshman opposite hitter Treyaunna Rush tallied her third match in double-digits after finishing with 11 kills.
Defensively, A&M was led by senior libero Camila Gomez and sophomore defensive specialist, Allison Fields, both collecting 12 digs apiece. Gomez was just shy of a double-double, recording a career-high nine assists.
Set One
Makena Patterson, Rush, Conner and Mallory Talbert each slammed down a kill before LSU took a 7-4 lead with a 3-0 run. The Aggies would continue to trail, as the Tigers had a 5-2 run to go ahead by five. Talbert and Lauren Davis fired down back-to-back kills to stop the Tigers’ run, but LSU reeled off four consecutive points, taking a 19-12 lead. A block by Patterson and Lauren Davis gave the Aggies some momentum, but LSU was unstoppable, taking the opening frame, 25-19. LSU hit .344, holding the Aggies to a .118 mark with Hans leading A&M with three kills.
Set Two
The Aggies opened up the set with a 4-0 run with kills by Hans and Conner, as well as an ace by Fields. LSU would take advantage of A&M attacking errors to take an 11-8 lead. The Aggies battled with a 5-1 run, as a kill by Patterson would knot the frame at 16. A trio of blocks by the Tigers would put them on top 21-19. A kill by Hans and a block by Rush and Patterson tied the set at points 21 and 22, but LSU would close out the frame, 25-23 with a 3-1 run. Hans led the Aggies with five kills, while Conner dished out a total of 17 assists.
Set Three
There were nine ties and three lead changes in the beginning of the frame before Rush and Conner smashed down back-to-back kills giving the Aggies a 12-11 lead. A&M used a 3-0 run to go ahead 17-13, forcing LSU into a timeout. The Aggies continued to build on their lead, holding a 20-15 edge with the Tigers’ second timeout of the frame. Conner would reel off four consecutive serves, extending the Aggies’ lead to 22-15. Freshman Rush put down back-to-back kills and an LSU attacking error would seal the set, 25-17. Hans logged seven kills in the third frame and reached double figures in digs with 10. Fields led the Aggies defensively with 12 digs and Conner had 28 assists.
Set Four
Conner and Talbert slammed down kills to give the Aggies a 6-4 lead, but LSU had a pair of kills and blocks to go ahead 8-6. Freshman Sabrina Sustala would serve the Aggies to five straight points, helping A&M jump out to a 17-12 lead. The Tigers were relentless, using a 7-0 run to hold a 21-19 advantage, forcing A&M into its final timeout of the set. Samantha Sanders would smash down a kill to end the LSU run, but the Tigers held a 24-21 at match point. A kill by Sanders and an ace by Voss would halt LSU’S momentum, but the Tigers clinched the frame, 25-23.
Texas A&M Post-Match Quotes
Texas A&M Head Coach Bird Kuhn
Opening Statement:
“Volleyball is a game of matchups and you have to show up to every match and execute. It doesn’t matter who the opponent is. LSU played really well. It was their senior night. It’s a game of momentum and we had to control those momentum moments like we’ve talked about. LSU came out and got rolling and I think they went with that throughout the match. 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. We struggle like that, but we’re excited to get back into the gym. We have things to work on.”
Up Next
Texas A&M returns home to host Auburn Wednesday, Nov. 13 at 8 p.m. in Reed Arena. The match will be televised on the SEC Network.
Visit 12thMan.com for more information on Texas A&M volleyball. Fans can keep up to date with the A&M volleyball team on Facebook and on Twitter by following @AggieVolleyball.
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics