Match Stats
The Aggies had an easy night after a sluggish first set, toppling LSU easily in four. Led by Kiara McGee who had 16 kills and a career-best .519 hitting percentage. Stephanie Aiple handed out 42 assists and put down eight kills.
Texas A&M’s defense held LSU to a .074 hitting percentage for the match, while hitting .344.
Three Tigers led the way with nine kills, Khourtni Fears, Gina Tillis and Tiara Gibson. Cheyenne Wood put down 14 kills for LSU and teammate Kelly Quinn added 13 kills.
Press Release
Courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics
BATON ROUGE, La. – Texas A&M stormed back after a sluggish first set to defeat LSU, 22-25, 25-14, 25-13, 25-6 in Southeastern Conference action tonight at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
Texas A&M improves to 8-6 overall and 2-1 in SEC matches as the Aggies win their fourth consecutive match against the Tigers in matches played in Baton Rouge.
It was the fifth consecutive loss for LSU, which falls to 5-9 overall and 0-3 in SEC matches. The Tigers also fall to 0-7 in home matches as they were held to their three fewest set points of the season.
Junior outside hitter Kiara McGee led the Aggies with 16 kills while hitting a career-high .519. Senior middle blocker Jazzmin Babers and freshman outside hitter Hollann Hans pitched in 10 kills apiece, marking Hans’ team-leading sixth consecutive match with double-figure kills. Junior setter Stephanie Aiple tied her career high with eight kills and dished out 42 assists while directing the Aggies’ offense to a .344 hitting efficiency.
Defensively, Babers had a season-high 10 blocks to record her first double-double of the year and lead the Aggies to a 15-4 lead in blocks. Senior defensive specialist Victoria Arenas had a team-high 13 digs, and the Aggies held the Tigers to a .074 hitting efficiency, the third lowest hitting percentage by an A&M opponent this season.
LSU took advantage of a slow start by the Aggies and jumped out to a 12-5 lead in the opening set. Texas A&M attempted a comeback, scoring six unanswered points to get within 12-11, but LSU ended the run with three consecutive kills.
Texas A&M, which was narrowly outhit A&M, .265 to .262, continued to mount a comeback and stayed within striking distance, later overcoming a 20-16 deficit to tie the score at 21-21 on a kill by Emily Hardesty. A&M tied the score again at 22-22 following a block by Babers and Aiple, but the Tigers put down three consecutive kills to close out the frame.
The Aggies held a 16-14 lead in the second set before catching fire. Texas A&M, which outhit the Tigers .382 to .139 in the set, reeled off nine consecutive points to take the set, 25-14.
A&M spotted LSU a 4-0 lead to start the third set and trailed 7-3 before Hans ignited a 16-1 run, posting her six kills of the set and adding two blocks during the rally. McGee was six-for-six in the set, including the kill that put the Aggies at set point, 24-12, and then getting the set-wining kill as A&M outhit LSU, .378 to .029.
A&M continued its domination in the fourth set, scoring runs of points and outhitting the Tigers, .389 to -.267, with senior setter Kaysie Shebeneck replacing Aiple at 15-3. The Aggies were up 20-5 when Hans put down her 10th kill, marking the start of a 4-0 run by the Aggies.
Freshman middle blocker Maddie Douglas, who subbed in for Babers late in the frame, teamed with junior opposite Ashlie Reasor for a block that put the Aggies at set point. A&M then had an attack error before Shebeneck set up Reasor for the match-winning kill.
For the match, Texas A&M led LSU in total kills (59-39), assists (51-35) and digs (62-49) and had a season-high 28 block assists.
Texas A&M plays a pair of road matches next week to conclude its three-match road swing. The Aggies take on Arkansas, Wednesday, Oct. 5, with first serve slated for 8 p.m. at Barnhill Arena in Fayetteville, Ark. The match will be televised on ESPNU with Holly McPeak and Courtney Lyle calling the action.
Texas A&M wraps up the road swing at Ole Miss on Sunday, Oct. 9 before returning home to play host to South Carolina on Friday, Oct. 14.
Press Release
Courtesy of LSU Athletics
BATON ROUGE – After taking the opening set 25-22, the LSU volleyball team lost all momentum and committed 23 errors in the following three sets to drop its match to Texas A&M, 3-1, Friday evening at the Maravich Center.
With the 25-22, 14-25, 13-25, 6-25 loss, the Tigers dropped to 5-9 overall and 0-3 in conference. The Aggies improved to 8-6 and 2-1 in league play.
Texas A&M hit .344 overall in the match, including more than .350 in the final three sets. The winning squad also limited its errors to 14 for the entire match. LSU hit .074 for all four sets and committed 28 total errors.
Flory’s Thoughts
“I think we played really well in the first set, and that is the type of team we can be. Texas A&M raised their level though and we weren’t able to match it. We started to do too much and couldn’t respond. They had us in a box and had all of the momentum.”
What’s Next
LSU returns to the court for its second conference match of the weekend at 1 p.m. CT Sunday against Missouri. The matchup between Tigers will be broadcast on SEC Network and streamed online at WatchESPN.com. Sunday is Mike’s Kids Club Day and the first 100 fans to enter the Maravich Center will have the opportunity to take a picture with the team after the match.
Opening Set
The Tigers got out to a strong start in the first set to take a 1-0 lead. LSU hit .265 with 18 kills and jut five errors thanks to set-leaders Khourtni Fears and Gina Tillis. LSU dominated early by getting out to as much as a six-point lead. The Aggies closed in throughout the set until eventually tying the frame at 21. After again tying the set at 22, LSU used a pair of kills by Fears and one by Tillis to take the set.
Second Set
After opening the first set with a win, LSU carried that momentum in the second. The Tigers led throughout the beginning of the set until the Aggies evened the match at 13. The two teams went back and forth until Texas A&M took control and closed with match on a 10-0 run.
Third and Fourth Sets
LSU hit .029 in the third and -.267 in the fourth compared to Texas A&M’s .378 and 389. In the third, the Tigers showed fight out of the intermission by taking a 6-2 lead early on. The Aggies roared back to take command of the match. LSU totaled just three kills and committed 11 errors in the final set. The Tigers were out blocked 5-1 in the set and committed three service errors.
Team Notes
>> Fears, Tillis and senior Tiara Gibson finished the match with nine kills each to lead the Tigers. Tillis was one kill shy of a double-double after finishing with 13 digs.
>> Freshman Anna Zwiebel led the way for LSU with 23 assists. Zwiebel also finished with five digs on the night.
>> Cheyenne Wood (14) and Kelly Quinn (13) each finished the match with double-digit kills. Wood has now finished with double-digit digs in all but three matches this season.
>> LSU dropped to 3-1 in matches in which it won the first set. The Tigers are still in sought of their first home and conference win this season.
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