The LSU Invitational proved to be tough for Boston College volleyball. Although the Eagles started off their time in Baton Rouge, La. dominantly by winning their first match, they dropped their next two games to come out of the tournament on a losing streak—losing four sets in a row.
Friday afternoon saw BC (7–5) swept by San Diego (4–5), failing to take a single set despite coming close in the first two sets.
“I think the passing kind of let us down,” BC head coach Jason Kennedy said. “Down the stretch, we had a few too many runs … that they were able to string some points together. And against a good team like San Diego … that was the biggest difference in the match.”
The first set went back and forth with the score tied until BC went on an 8–1 run to take a 14–9 lead. The Eagles maintained control for much of the set, but the momentum started to swing toward San Diego as it got a few kills plus an attack error and a block to take the lead 23–22. BC prevented the Toreros from taking the set on the first set point following a block from Halle Schroder, but San Diego was able to close it out with a kill to make the score 25–23.
San Diego took an early edge in the second set, leading 12–7. The Eagles chipped away at the lead, but only came within two points when the score became 23–21. BC was unable to overcome this deficit and dropped the second set 25–21.
The third set saw the Toreros dominate early, jumping out to a 12–5 lead. San Diego generated kills and also took advantage of attacking errors by Schroder and Cornelia Roach to build a healthy lead. BC tried to fight back, but it was unable to recover, allowing San Diego to take the set 25–18.
Despite opening Thursday with a win, BC was unable to come out on top over Louisiana State (8–2). The Tigers grabbed the first two sets 25–18 and 25–22. The Eagles rebounded to take the third set 25–14, but dropped the final set 25–21 in a close battle.
“We lack the consistency we needed,” Kennedy said. “you’ve just got to be able to take care of the side-out phase and be able to execute and get kills. And we struggle to do that primarily because of the passing.”
The first set went back and forth until LSU started to build up the points. The Eagles tried to fight back, but the Tigers were able to maintain their lead, never letting BC get closer than four points.
After trading points, the Tigers responded with a 5–0 run to come within two points of BC. LSU continued to keep it close, eventually tying the set 17–17. The advantage went back and forth between the two teams, but with the score tied 22–22, LSU took the lead and closed out the remaining points following two kills and an attack error by the Eagles.
The Tigers closed out the game by capturing the fourth set in another tight battle. BC and LSU went back and forth, with five ties occurring over the course of the set. Neither team had a lead over three points until the score became 20–16 in favor of the Tigers.
Although the Eagles continued to fight back, with Ross, Herrington, and Julia Haggerty all getting blocks, it wasn’t enough and the Tigers took the final set and the game following a service error by Ross.
BC won its first match Thursday against North Florida (3–10). The first and third sets were close, but the Ospreys did not compete as much in the second and fourth sets.
“I think our centers did a good job of getting different people involved,” Kennedy said. “And I think it shows that we’ve got opportunities for some folks to be able to score, as long as we’re willing to take the risk to move the ball around.”
The first set of BC’s game against North Florida was tight through the first couple of points, as each team tried to take control. Once the Eagles made the score 20–19, they scored another four points unanswered and there was no coming back for North Florida.
North Florida came out to a quick start in the second set, taking a 3–0 lead, but the Eagles responded, tying the set 5–5. Multiple attack errors for the Ospreys along with kills by Roach, Ross, and Schroder allowed BC to pull away with the score 19–8.
North Florida took the third set in a tightly contested battle. The turning point occurred as the Eagles led 19–14. The Ospreys had three kills and a service ace to come within one point of BC. North Florida continued to gain points as it got kills and took advantage of some mistakes by the Eagles. Even though the score was close, the Ospreys had the momentum at the end of the set and capped it off with a kill to make the score 25–22.
BC was able to take home its only win of the tournament as it dominated the fourth set of the game. BC built on this momentum to claim the set 25–14.
Schroder was key for the Eagles against North Florida, where she had 22 kills, and San Diego, where she had 18 kills.
“She’s going to be the kid that carries the offensive workload for us … and she led us in kills by a long shot,” Kennedy said.
