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A season full of firsts for LSU (16-14) ends with a 3-0 decision (11-25, 15-25, 21-25) in favor of No. 5 Stanford (26-4) Saturday night in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Maples Pavilion.

In head coach Tonya Johnson’s first season at the helm, the LSU Tigers logged its first winning season since 2019, reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017 and won its first NCAA Tournament match since 2014.

Stanford, the overall No. 4 overall seed in the tournament controlled the match with a 25-11 set one win and 25-15 set two victory. The Fighting Tigers held a 15-13 lead by the media timeout in the third set and led 19-15 before Stanford closed the set with a 10-2 run for a 25-21 win.

Outside hitter Sanaa Dotson led LSU with nine kills and had five digs and two blocks. Middle blocker Anita Anwusi followed with five kills and a match-high four blocks.

Libero Ella Larkin finishes the season in a three-way tie at No. 5 in the program’s record book with 516 total digs this season after tallying nine in the match. She is tied with Elena Martinez (2008) and Luciana Reis (1993). Setters Josie Vondran and Maddie Waak finished with 12 and nine assists, respectively.

Set 1

• LSU scored the first two points of the match but used its first timeout with Stanford ahead 10-6. The Tigers eventually took its second timeout trailing 16-7 behind a 10-1 run by The Cardinal.
• Stanford stretched its lead to double figures shortly after the timeout and won the first set 25-11.

Set 2

• The Tigers signaled for time trailing The Cardinal 12-6.
• LSU pulled within four points at 14-10 thanks to three unanswered points, but Stanford forced the Tigers to call its final timeout as they built a 20-12 lead.
• The Cardinal went on to score five of the final eight points for a 25-15 victory and 2-0 match lead.

Set 3

• After the intermission, LSU had new energy and led 11-8 before taking a 15-13 lead into the media timeout.
• Stanford tried to grab the momentum back, but the Tigers increased their margin to 19-15 when the Cardinal took their first timeout of the match.
• The Cardinal went on a 5-1 run to tie the set at 20 and closed the match on an overall 10-2 run for the 25-20 win.

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