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LSU Volleyball (10-13, 6-8 SEC) was defeated by Ole Miss (18-6, 7-6 SEC) in four sets (19-25, 25-17, 24-26, 19-25) Thursday night at the Gillom Athletics Performance Center. 

LSU’s 58 kills bested Ole Miss’ 51, but the Rebels recorded a better hitting percentage on the night (.271-.219). The Tigers had four service aces to Ole Miss’ two, and the Rebels won the battle at the net with 10 blocks to LSU’s seven. 

“We did not play very tough. We were high-error tonight and we have not been that way in a long time,” said head coach Fran Flory. “Paige [Flickinger] came in and did a great job, Taylor [Bannister] played a really good match, and Anita [Anwusi] was good too, but you are not going to beat a balanced team as Ole Miss has become with only a few people playing well. We all need to be on the same page and we all need to put up the right numbers. We have the opportunity to do that tomorrow.”  

LSU was led by right side Taylor Bannister, who had a season-high 16 kills on a .406 hitting percentage. Outside hitter Paige Flickinger also recorded a season-high 12 kills while hitting .429. Middle blocker Anita Anwusi and outside Kylie DeBerg both hit double-digit kills, posting 11 and 10, respectively. 

Setter Ella Larkin had a match-high in both assists (44) and digs (18) to go along with four kills. Libero Raigen Cianciulli logged 13 digs and four assists. 

Outside hitter Lauren Thompson led Ole Miss with a match-high 19 kills. Outside hitter Anna Bair added 13 kills, and setter Kylie McLaughlin had 43 assists. 

Set 1 

·         LSU jumped out to a 7-4 lead thanks to three early kills from DeBerg, but Ole Miss responded with an 8-2 run to lead, 12-9. 

·         The Rebels maintained a steady lead as they went into the media timeout ahead 15-10 and never let their deficit go below three points. 

·         A pair of late Bannister kills gave the Tigers a fighting chance, but Ole Miss eventually won the first set, 25-19. 

Set 2  

·         Ole Miss came out and led 4-1 in the early going, but a kill and a block from Anwusi followed by an ace from Bannister leveled things for LSU. 

·         The Tigers used a 9-1 run to gain a 17-7 advantage capped by a Bannister kill and a Larkin ace. 

·         It was the Tigers’ turn to cruise to a set victory, as they never let the lead fall to less than six after leading 13-7. 

·         Flickinger’s seventh kill on her seventh swing gave the Tigers the second set, 25-17. 

 

Set 3 

·         The Rebels won three consecutive points to lead 5-2 before a Bannister kill stopped the run. LSU took three consecutive points of their own to establish a 9-7 edge. 

·         Both teams traded punches in the middle of the set. Ole Miss scored three unanswered before LSU took the next two points to knot it up at 14. 

·         The Tigers went on a 5-2 run to lead 19-17, but the Rebels fought back to level it at 20. 

·         In a set with 14 ties and seven lead changes, Ole Miss won the last three points to win, 26-24. 

Set 4 

·         Ole Miss opened with another 5-2 lead, but a kill and service ace from DeBerg cut their early advantage to one, 5-4. 

·         The Rebels won four of the next six points to lead 9-6, and they pushed their lead to 15-11 heading into the media timeout. 

·         Three straight Tiger points, thanks to kills from Bannister and DeBerg, cut the deficit to 19-16, but Ole Miss pushed it back to 21-16. 

·         LSU fought back again to trail, 22-19, but the Rebels won the final three points to close out the set, 25-19. 

UP NEXT 

The Tigers will take on Ole Miss again on Friday, Nov. 12, at 6 p.m. The match will be broadcast on SEC Network+.

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