The Miami Hurricanes broke their seven game losing streak with a win over the LSU Tigers Thursday night, winning in four sets at the Freeman Indoor Stadium in Coral Gables.
Miami was in the midst of a horrid 0-7 start to the season, which included six straight sweeps, and were looking to make their first win of the season.
LSU also came into the match off a slow start, only recording one Power Four win through seven games.
As both sides aimed to turn around their season, the first set started off competitive.
Asia Harvey had a block in the first few moments, followed by Logan Wiley and Ariana Rodriguez.
The fans were cheering from the sidelines as the score remained level at 14-14 within the first seven minutes of the game, but the Canes pulled away and won the first set 25-20.
The second set started off with the Canes’ first kill by Ruth Martinez and an assist from Ariana Rodriguez.
Martinez had an impressive night, shining with 26 kills and six blocks throughout the game.
Miami was leading at the beginning, until LSU scored two points with a kill by Jessica Jones, followed by a block from Lauren Brooker.
UM took a timeout before the end of the second set, followed by a kill by Harvey as the Canes won the second set 25-19.
The third set didn’t start well for the Canes, and they were struggling to stop the Tigers’ defense.
Martinez and Wiley had kills back-to-back, but the Tigers took over most of the third set.
LSU hitter Sanaa Donaie had a kill assisted by Lauren Brooker and gave the Tigers the lead at 15-11. LSU maintained control of the ball for most of the 3rd set, and there was a timeout taken by both teams. Miami challenged the play before the end of the 3rd set, but LSU was granted the score and won the third set 25-12. This was the Canes’ worst performance of the night.
The 4th set started great for the Canes, with Martinez again getting a kill, followed by Rodriguez, and the crowd went wild. The energy from the Canes fans was at its highest.
The Canes were leading 11-5 within the first few moments of the 4th set, making it UM’s’ best lead gap in this game. LSU challenged the play, but after the review, Miami was granted the last kill.
There was an attack error by LSU middle blocker Jessica Jones, where Miami challenged the play, and Miami got an extra point. LSU took a timeout, but Miami continued to crush the Tigers and won the 4th set 25-20 to claim its first win of the season.
The Canes will remain at home, hosting Tulsa on Saturday, Sept. 19.
