BATON ROUGE, La. — The LSU sand volleyball team (14-9) closed out their season on Sunday, splitting matches against ULM and Tulane at the Mango’s Beach Volleyball Club on the final day of the Battle on the Bayou Tournament.
“I think before we started, if you would have told me what we would go through and how we would finish, I might have had a hard time believing you,” said head coach Russell Brock. “To come into this weekend with some really good teams and needing to play well a lot, I would have taken it in a heartbeat.”
In the first match against the Warhawks on court four, Katarina Raicevic and Carly Morris took the first set 21-14. ULM came back in the second set with a 21-11 victory. Morris and Raicevic regrouped to claim the final set 15-10 for LSU’s first point of the match. ULM tied the game on court five after Riley Young and Emma Hiller fell in straight sets 22-20, 21-18 in a tightly contested match.
Callan Molle and Cati Leak won in straight sets 21-16, 21-18 to give the Lady Tigers a 2-1 lead. ULM wouldn’t go away as Mandi Orellana and Katie Lindelow were defeated in two sets 11-21, 18-21 on court one. Helen Boyle and Cheyenne Wood would break the tie with commanding 21-15, 21-15 wins to help give LSU the 3-2 victory over the Warhawks.
In the final match against Tulane, the Lady Tigers found themselves down 0-2 as Morris and Raicevic fell in straight sets 21-19, 21-13. Hiller and Young were also defeated in straight sets 21-14, 21-15 as the Green Wave grabbed a two-point lead.
On court two, Molle and Leak won in straight sets 21-13, 21-14 for the Lady Tigers’ first point of the match. LSU continued to rally as Orellana and Lindelow battled to a three-set victory 21-19, 15-21, 15-11, tying the game. Boyle and Wood took their match to three sets, but the pair was unable to pull out the win, falling 21-18, 11-21, 16-18 as Tulane took the match 3-2 in the final match of the season.
After the matches, seniors Helen Boyle and Laura Whalen were recognized and presented for their dedication in helping to build a foundation for LSU’s sand program in just it’s second year of competition.
“When you have a program like we are that has no history or real upperclassmen, nobody knows anything,” explained coach Brock. “So when you have girls like Helen and Laura that can lead by example, they can explain through how they respect the game and respect practices and how they take care of themselves in their studies is what LSU is all about. We don’t have that without them; they bring a history and a value to the team.”
The Lady Tigers now end the season with fourteen wins and high expectations for next year.
“I’m excited about our incoming class and our returners know what to expect and they know what it looks like now. To have a season under their belt, you can’t replace that and you can’t teach that; it’s experience. Rather than having four or five people with experience, we’re going to have ten or twelve.”
“We came close to beating Tulane as a team, but we have also beat several ranked teams this year. Coming from really nowhere on the national scene and starting to maybe catch people’s attention, that’s what we’re trying to do.”
While the season for the team is finished, it may not be over for the number one duo of Lindelow and Orellana, who have a strong chance of being selected to compete in the AVCA National Championships in Gulf Shores in two weeks. A committee for the AVCA chooses the pairs based on overall body of work throughout the season.
“Just in the last couple of months of the season we beat Tulane, Georgia State, FIU and Florida State, who turned around and beat Tulane in the final at Siesta Key,” said coach Brock. “We know that (Lindelow and Orellana) are capable of competing against the top. They’ve got enough of a resume, and we think it’s a formality before we hear they’re going to be there.”
Selections for the championships will be announced tomorrow at a time to be determined.
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
Battle on the Bayou
Day 2 Results
April 19, 2015
Spring Hill vs. UNO – Spring Hill 3-2
No. 1 Cara Sander and Mikayla Wiebe def. Mallory Raulerson and Megan Haber (22-20, 21-15)
No. 2 Savannah Becnel and Julie Vujnovich def. Brooklyn Frank and Lauren Levy (21-19, 21-11)
No. 3 Virginia Hicks and Amber Perkins def. Taylor Berry and Celeste Ramirez (21-13, 21-16)
No. 4 Camila Lau and Kelsea Hundtoft def. Hannah Masoner and Madison Seuzeneau (21-18, 21-17)
No. 5 Catherine Milwee and Andria Dytrych def. Ashley Everett and Courtney Roblez (21-14, 21-19)
South Carolina vs. Tulane – South Carolina wins 3-2
No. 1 Tea Juric and Jackie Wegner def. Megan Kent and Paige Wheeler (21-19, 21-19)
No. 2 Julie Mannisto and Maddie Frome def. Grace Weaver and Miah Direll (15-21, 21-12, 15-10)
No. 3 Madeline Mertz and Lan Nguyen def. Sarah Blomgren and Jade Vitt (21-17, 17-21, 15-5)
No. 4 Jade Hayes and Macie Tendrich def. Hannah Holmes and Christina McAfee (21-12, 21-14)
No. 5 Koko Williams and Allie Monserez def. Courtney Liddle and Annie Shurtz (21-8, 16-21, 15-9)
LSU vs. ULM – LSU wins 3-2
No. 1 Michelle McNamee and Marcela Araya def. Katie Lindelow and Mandi Orellana (21-11, 21-18)
No. 2 Callan Molle and Cati Leak def. Hope Pawlik and Katie Lindstrom (21-16, 21-18)
No. 3 Helen Boyle and Cheyenne Wood def. Hadley Swartz and Bayleigh Hoffman (21-15, 21-15)
No. 4 Katarina Raicevic and Carly Morris def. Alannah Cullum and Taylor Zaeske (21-14, 11-21,15-10)
No. 5 Kaitlyn Shearer and Claire Crossfield def. Emma Hiller and Riley Young (22-20, 21-18)
South Carolina vs. UNO – South Carolina wins 5-0
No. 1 Megan Kent and Paige Wheeler def. Brooklyn Frank and Lauren Levy (21-11, 21-16)
No. 2 Maddie Frome and Julia Mannisto def. Cara Sander and Mikayla Wiebe (21-10, 21-15)
No. 3 Sarah Blomgren and Jade Vitt def. Kelsea Hundtoft and Camila Lau (21-11, 21-6)
No. 4 Jade Hayes and Macie Tendrich def. Celeste Ramirez and Taylor Berry (21-8, 21-3)
No. 5 Erin Neuenfeldt and Litsa Darby def. Ashley Everett and Courtney Roblez (21-8, 21-7)
ULM vs. Spring Hill – ULM wins 5-0
No. 1 Marcela Araya and Michelle McNamee def. Megan Haber and Mallory Raulerson (21-16, 21-12)
No. 2 Hope Pawlik and Hadley Swartz def. Savannah Becnel and Julie Vujnovich (21-18, 21-17)
No. 3 Katie Lindstrom and Bayleigh Hoffman def. Virginia Hicks and Amber Perkins (21-15, 21-10)
No. 4 Taylor Zaeske and Alannah Cullum def. Hannah Masoner and Madison Seuzeneau (21-15, 21-17)
No. 5 Claire Crossfield and Rachel Arnason def. Katelyn Bobinger and Andria Dytrych (21-8, 21-7)
LSU vs. Tulane – Tulane wins 3-2
No. 1 Katie Lindelow and Mandi Orellana def. Tea Juric and Jackie Wegner (21-19, 15-21, 15-11)
No. 2 Cati Leak and Callan Molle def. Grace Weaver and Hannah Holmes (21-13, 21-14)
No. 3 Lan Nguyen and Madeline Mertz def. Helen Boyle and Cheyenne Wood (21-18, 11-21, 18-16)
No. 4 Courtney Liddle and Annie Shurtz def. Katarina Raicevic and Carly Morris (21-19, 21-13)
No. 5 Sarah Strasner and Miah Direll def. Emma Hiller and Riley Young (21-14, 21-15)