BATON ROUGE — The LSU sand volleyball team closed out the last day of the Tiger Sand Tournament with a single elimination pair bracket at Mango’s Beach Volleyball Club. The top two pairs for each team played in the Gold Bracket and the three and four spots competed in the Tiger Bracket. The five, six and seven pairs also participated in the Purple Bracket.
For LSU, the five pair of Riley Young and Emma Hiller fell to Giovanna Pasos and Natalia Giron of FIU in the quarterfinals of the Purple Bracket 21-7, 24-22.
In the Tiger Bracket, Carly Morris and Katarina Raicevic took their opening round match in straight sets against Kelsea Hundtoft and Camila Lau of UNO 21-13, 21-14. The pair then faced Tiger teammates Helen Boyle and Cheyenne Wood in the quarterfinals, where Boyle and Wood came out on top 21-15, 21-14. In the following match, FIU’s Aren Cupp and Tina Toghiyani grabbed an early lead against the Tigers, taking the first set 21-9. Boyle and Wood kept it close in the second, but couldn’t prevail as the Panthers tallied their second victory 21-18.
After a first round bye in the Gold Bracket, Mandi Orellana and Katie Lindelow competed against teammates Cati Leak and Callan Molle in the quarterfinals. The pairs fought hard, but Orellana and Lindelow won in straight sets 21-17, 21-18. In the semifinals, the duo again swept their match against FIU’s Anja Budinska and Maryna Samoday 21-16, 21-18.
Orellana and Lindelow were challenged in the final round, taking on FIU’s number one pair Summer Nash and Kristine Monforte. The Lady Tigers battled in the first set to grab a 13-8 lead. The duo extended their lead to 18-10, allowing them to take the set 21-16. In the second set, Lindelow and Orellana had match point at 20-18, but were unable to clinch as FIU came back to claim a second set victory 22-20. LSU refused to go down, and the pair fought back to a dominating third set win 15-7 to take the Gold Bracket.
“I told the girls at the end that I’m proud of them,” said head coach Russell Brock. “We played some really good volleyball in duels and we’ve asked them to fight and play hard and I think the last match (for Lindelow and Orellana) was a good representation of what we’ve been doing. It’s a big step for our program for sure.”
The Tigers travel to Birmingham, Alabama for the Blazer Beach Duals Tournament on Saturday. LSU faces UAB and ULM on Saturday and finishes competition on Sunday with matches against Spring Hill and New Orleans.
For the latest information on LSU Sand Volleyball, fans can follow the Tigers on Twitter and Instagram @LSUsandVB and @RussLSUsand, or on Facebook by liking LSU sand volleyball.
Tiger Sand Tournament
Day 3 Single Elimination Pairs Bracket
Gold Bracket
(FIU 1) Kristine Monforte/Summer Nash def. (UNO 1) Celeste Ramirez/Cara Sander (21-11, 21-8)
(LSU 1) Katie Lindelow/Mandi Orellana def. (FIU 1) (FIU 1) Kristine Monforte/Summer Nash (21-16, 20-22, 15-7)
(FIU 1) Kristine Monforte/Summer Nash def. (Spring Hill 2) Savannah Becnel/Julie Vujnovich (21-10, 21-10)
(FIU 2) Anna Budinska/Maryna Samoday def. (UNF 1) Cameron McGuire/Cari Whitmire (21-11, 21-14)
(LSU 1) Katie Lindelow/Mandi Orellana def. (FIU 2) Anna Budinska/Maryna Samoday (21-16, 21-18)
(UNO 1) Celeste Ramirez/Cara (Spring Hill 1) def. (Spring Hill 1) Mallory Raulerson/Megan Haber (21-15, 21-9)
(UNF) Cameron McGuire/Cari Whitmire def. (UNO 2) Lauren Levy/Brooklyn Frank (21-14, 21-15)
(UNF 2) Tessa Alyman/Jess Kinlaw def. (Spring Hill 1) Mallory Raulerson/Megan Haber (21-19, 21-9)
(Spring Hill 2) Savannah Becnel/Julie Vujnovich def. (UNF 2) Tessa Alyman/Jess Kinlaw (21-19, 21-16)
(LSU 2) Cati Leak/Callan Molle def. (UNO 2) Lauren Levy/Brooklyn Frank (22-20, 21-14)
(LSU 1) Katie Lindelow/Mandi Orellana def. (LSU 2) Cati Leak/Callan Molle (21-17, 21-18)
Tiger Bracket
(FIU 3) Marytna Gluchowicz/Anja Licka def. (Spring Hill) Virginia Hicks/Amber Perkins (21-7, 21-10)
(FIU 3) Marytna Gluchowicz/Anja Licka def. (UNF 4) Kimberly Ferguson/Ambre Desaulnay (21-10, 21-11)
(Spring Hill 3) Amber Perkins/Ginny Hicks def. (UNO 3) Sophia Gracey/Mikayla Sellers-Wiebe (21-14, 21-16)
(FIU 4) Aren Cupp/Tina Toghiyani def. (LSU 3) Helen Boyle/Cheyenne Wood (21-9, 21-18)
(FIU 4) Aren Cupp/Tina Toghiyani def. (UNF 3) Tanner Garbutt/Julie Trembley (21-16, 21-19)
(UNF 4) Ambre Desaulnay/Kim Ferguson def. (Spring Hill 4) Hannah Masoner/Madison Seuzeneau (21-13, 21-11)
(Spring Hill 4) Hannah/Masoner/Madison Seuzeneau def. (UNO 4) Camila Lau/Kelsea Hundtoft (21-16, 21-12)
(UNF 3) Tanner Garbutt/Julie Trembley def. (UNO 3) Sophia Gracey/Mikayla Sellers-Wiebe (21-10, 21-14)
(LSU 3) Helen Boyle/Cheyenne Wood def. (LSU 4) Carly Morris/Katarina Raicevic (21-15, 21-14)
(LSU 4) Carly Morris/Katarina Raicevic def. (UNO 4) Camila Lau/Kelsea Hundtoft (21-13, 21-14)
Purple Bracket
(FIU 5) Savannah Davis/Marina Boulanger def. (UNF 6) Haley Harrison/Carina Hoff (21-11, 21-12)
(FIU 5) Savannah Davis/Marina Boulanger def. (UNF 7) Carinne Turner/Shannon McPherson (21-8, 21-9)
(FIU 6) Giovanna Pasos/Natalia Giron def. (UNF 5) Ebony Gunn/Emily Deranzo (21-19, 21-18)
(FIU 6) Giovanna Pasos/Natalia Giron def. (LSU 5) Emma Hiller/Riley Young (21-7, 24-22)
(FIU 6) Giovanna Pasos/Natalia Giron def. (LSU 7) Mimi Eugene/Taylor Wilson (21-5, 21-19)
(FIU 7) Marina Samoday/Estephanie Bethancourt def. (LSU 6) Emily Ehrle/Laura Whalen (21-7, 21-10)
(UNF 6) Haley Harrison/Carina Hoff def. (Spring Hill 6) Andria Dytrych/Catherine Milwee (21-10, 21-14)
(UNF 7) Shannon McPherson/Carinne Turner def. (Spring Hill 5) Katelyn Bobinger/Morgan Murphy (21-6, 21-13)
(UNF 7) Shannon McPherson/Carinne Turner def. (UNO 5) Courtney Miller/Ashley Everett (21-15, 21-10)
(Spring Hill 6) Andria Dytrych/Catherine Milwee def. (Spring Hill 5) Katelyn Bobinger/Morgan Murphy (21-18, 11-21, 15-6)
(LSU 5) Emma Hiller/Riley Young def. (LSU 6) Emily Ehrle/Laura Whalen (21-8, 15-21, 15-10)
(LSU 7) Mimi Eugene/Taylor Wilson def. (UNO 5) Courtney Miller/Ashley Everett (21-19, 21-13)