SIESTA KEY, Fla. — The LSU sand volleyball team (10-8) competed in a variety of pool and bracket play in the team’s first day of matches at the Fiesta at Siesta Key Tournament in Florida on Saturday.
The Lady Tigers started the day with the top three pairs for each school participating in a separate pool play. In their first match, Mandi Orellana and Katie Lindelow grinded out a tough three-set match against the Florida State Seminoles, and the two continued their dominant performance, winning their next two matches against North Florida in straight sets and against Eckerd College in a three-setter. The duo will compete tomorrow in the Gold Bracket, when all first place teams from the top pools go into a 12-team bracket.
Cati Leak and Helen Boyle dropped a close match against Florida State, but the pair rallied to defeat their next two opponents, North Florida and Eckerd College, in straight sets to earn them a spot in the Silver Bracket tomorrow. Callan Molle and Katarina Raicevic, the number three pair for the weekend, fell in both of their matches.
“We came in and all of our girls were in different pools, and we really had a good day,” said head coach Russell Brock. “Mandi and Katie went undefeated and they’ll be in the Gold Bracket. Hopefully they’ll do really well. It was a long day and they all played tough competition.”
For the fourth, fifth and sixth pairs, each team started in pool play sets to 25, then moved to a single elimination bracket.
Carly Morris and Cheyenne Wood won all three of their single sets in their pool, but lost out in the first round of the Fiesta Gold Bracket.
Riley Young and Emma Hiller claimed victory in their first and third sets to advance to the Fiesta Silver Bracket, where they fell in the first round.
The number sixth duo of Emily Ehrle and Laura Whalen lost their first two sets, but came back to garner a third set win in pool play. Ehrle and Whalen were victorious in both rounds of their bracket play.
There will be a blind draw for the four, five and six pairs to play out for tomorrow’s matches.
The Lady Tigers will finish out the tournament tomorrow starting at 8:30 a.m. ET.
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