A fantastic end to the season opener.
LSU volleyball opened their 2026 season with a thrilling 3-2 victory over Wake Forest Friday in the PMAC. The Tigers and Demon Deacons went back and forth throughout, but the home team prevailed with clutch hits when it mattered most.
LSU took set one 25-20 on the back of multiple solid runs by LSU. The main thing that kept them from dominating the scoreboard was service errors. LSU outhit Wake Forest .323 to .062, but the Tigers had seven service errors including
three on their first three side outs after the first serve.
Wake took set two 25-22 thanks to a 6-1 run in the middle. LSU got outhit .222 to .156 and committed five more service errors. LSU made a late run after it was set point at 24-20, but a service error ended the run.
LSU pulled off an incredible comeback to win set three 25-23. After starting up 4-0, the Demon Deacons got up 17-12. LSU managed to pull it back with some great offense and with better discipline, and they finished it with a furious kill off the arm of Jurnee Robinson.
Wake won the fourth set 25-23. LSU had it close for most of it, but Wake got just enough of a handle on things in the middle of it to give them the advantage they needed to win. A net fault on a point that would’ve made the set 23-23 hurt the most.
LSU sealed it with a 17-15 fifth set victory. Jurnee Robinson finished things off with a ferocious kill that hit a Demon Deacon defender. The two teams went back and forth throughout, but when they needed it most, the Tigers delivered.
Jurnee Robinson had another stellar game. She had a double-double with 34 kills and 11 kills. Her 34 kills ties herself for third most in a five-set match in LSU history, and her 79 total attacks sets a new LSU single-match record regardless of era and set total. She broke her own five-set record by four and the record, set by Carmis Franks in a four-set match in 1996 (before the rally scoring era began), by two. She is now in the top-10 in LSU history in all-time kills.
The Tigers are now 3-0 all-time against the Demon Deacons. LSU will complete their two-game homestand Saturday against Incarnate Word at 6:00. I won’t be at that game like I was at this one, so expect a lighter recap.
