The Pilots dropped both matches this weekend at the Dock against back-to-back reigning RRAC champions, Texas A&M-Texarkana [3], falling in five sets Friday night before suffering a four set loss Saturday afternoon. 

Friday night, the Pilots would find their backs against the wall as the Eagles took the first two sets, 25-23 and 25-18. LSUS fought off the sweep, closing the third set 25-23, thanks to a 9-2 run after trailing 21-16. LSUS fed off the home court advantage going into the fourth set where Tamara Bojanic [4], the Pilots first RRAC defensive player of the week award winner [5], recorded seven kills to help LSUS take the set 25-19 and force a decisive fifth set. 

The Pilots battled back from an early deficit and tied the score at nine. Texarkana answered with five consecutive points to take a 14-9 lead. LSUS would answer back with three straight points in an effort to stay alive, but then the Eagles would close out the decisive set 15-12 escaping the Dock with a 3-2 match victory. 

Despite this loss, the Pilots held a 8-3 advantage in service aces and out blocked Texarkana 14-13. Bojanic led the Pilots with 19 kills while Farah Helmy [6] recorded 45 assists and four aces. Isabella Gomes [7] anchored the defense with 22 digs on the evening. 

The Pilots returned to the Dock on Saturday, looking to split the series, but the Eagles once again would come out on top. After Texarkana took the opening set 25-18, LSUS would respond quickly with a 25-22 victory in the second set, refusing to quit. The third set featured much of the same back-and-forth action seen earlier this weekend, leading to a 17 defensive stalemate. The Eagles would take control scoring eight of the final nine points to earn the 25-18 hard fought set win. 

Texarkana carried that momentum going into the fourth set and closed out the weekend in a close 25-21 victory, handing LSUS its second consecutive conference loss. 

Bojanic posted another strong performance in the afternoon, with 14 kills and 13 digs, her fifth double double on the season. Hanna Pereira [8]and Logan Hamilton [9]each contributed 10 kills, while Gomes finished with 18 digs on the backlines. Although LSUS finished Saturday with more kills than Texarkana, 50-46, the Eagles held the advantage in hitting percentage, .191 to .139. 

After beginning conference play with four straight victories, now the Pilots sit at 4-2 in the RRAC and 9-8 overall following their back to back losses this past weekend. The Pilots now rank 3rd in the RRAC conference.  [10]

LSUS will look to bounce back on the road this weekend, Friday and Saturday October 2nd and 3rd, with another pair of RRAC match ups against Our Lady Of The Lake in San Antonio, Texas. The Pilots will face the Saints Friday evening at 6:00 before returning to the court Saturday at noon, looking to get back into the win column and regain momentum in the RRAC. 

You can watch both games on the LSUS Athletics YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@lsusathletics/featured  [11]