By james art 
BATON ROUGE, LA. – Alabama volleyball lost a tough four-set match Sunday against LSU, winning the first set 25-21 but falling in the next three by scores of 23-25, 22-25 and 24-26.
A 4-0 run early in the first set helped Alabama (10-11, 2-8 SEC) take the lead over LSU (13-8, 5-5 SEC) and hold it the rest of the way, pushing to 25 – 21 wins in the opening frame. A close start to the second favored the Tigers until Pairs Thompson’s ace capped a 5-0 run to tie the game at 17-17. A Sophie Agee kill soon after gave Alabama a 20-19 lead and the Tide went ahead again four points later at 22-21, but a resilient LSU team rallied late to win 25-23 and even the game at 1-1.
After five ties at the start of the third set, a Jordin Townes kill tied the score for the sixth time at 13-13. The Tigers began to add some distance after that point, eventually reaching set point at 24-17. Alabama didn’t go down easily, however, scoring five unanswered points, including three aces by Chase Campbell to force the Tigers to burn a timeout at 24-22. LSU ended the comeback bid on its next rally as a kill gave the home team a 25-22 victory and a 2-1 match advantage. The Tide had the early momentum in the fourth, with the Tigers burning a 9-5 timeout after a 4-0 run by Alabama. The Tide soon extended its lead to six points before LSU began to pull away, pulling within two before Alabama called a timeout of its own at 13-11. The Tigers tied the score five times before taking a 21-20 lead. Three lead changes later, Alabama set point was 24-23, but LSU responded with three straight points to take the set, 26-24, and the match, 3-1.
NOTES
- Chase Campbell finished with a season-best four aces, three of which came within five points late in the third set
- Kayla Keshock led the team with 31 assists, her highest total in an SEC game and second-highest of the season
- With six blocks today against LSU, Chase Campbell now has five or more shutouts in four SEC games, previously had five against Texas A&M (Nov. 1) and Tennessee (Sept. 25) and nine against Georgia (Oct. 6)
STATISTICAL LEADERS
SET BY SET
- Set 1: Alabama 25, LSU 21
- Set 2: LSU 25, Alabama 23
- Set 3: LSU 25, Alabama 22
- Set 4: LSU 26, Alabama 24
NEXT
- Sunday, November 10 at #24 Florida – Gainesville, FL – 12pm CT