BATON ROUGE, La. — The LSU beach volleyball team split its first two matches of the Tiger Beach Challenge on Saturday, winning against ULM 5-0, and falling to No. 8 Stetson 3-2 at Mango’s Beach Volleyball Club.
No. 12 LSU (4-1) will play No. 9 Florida International tomorrow in a rematch before finishing the home tournament with a match against No. 10 Georgia State.
It’s great (to be back home),” said associate head coach Russell Brock. “You can’t play at home often enough. The crown and atmosphere were great. This is such a good tournament with so many great teams. To be back in it with such a good format is a lot of fun.”
In the opening home match against ULM, Victoria Boraski and Megan Davenport put LSU on the board first with a straight set victory 21-13, 21-16 over Bayleigh Hoffman and Tara Jenkins on court five. At the four, Mandi Orellana and Cheyenne Wood took their match in three sets 21-12, 16-21 and 15-7, giving LSU a 2-0 lead.
No. 3 pair Cati Leak and Callan Molle added the third point of the game for the Lady Tigers, winning in straight sets 21-10, 21-18. On court two, Helen Boyle and Lilly Kessler tallied another point in a tightly contested two-setter, defeating Hadley Swartz and Kori Simpson by a score of 22-20, 21-18. No. 1 tandem Ashley Allmer and Katie Lindelow capped off the match with a win in straight sets, giving LSU a 5-0 match win over the Warhawks.
“ULM plays us so hard every time we get on the court with them,” said Brock. “They’re a talented team, and we knew it was going to be a battle. You throw in a little Louisiana pride in there as well, and we know it’s going to be a tough match. We got in some tight sets and games… I was proud of them for executing.”
LSU battled No. 8 Stetson in the final match of the day. Boraski and Davenport clinched the Lady Tigers’ first point of the match, taking a 1-0 lead. Stetson tied up the match 1-1 after Wood and Orellana fell in three sets, marking the pair’s first match loss of the season.
Stetson claimed the lead 2-1 after Kessler and Boyle fell in three sets, snapping another undefeated match streak for the duo. Leak and Molle notched a point on court three in three sets, but Stetson tacked on the match-clinching point on court one, defeating Lindelow and Allmer in three sets 21-19, 17-21, and 15-10, giving the Lady Tigers their first loss of the season.
“You have to credit Stetson for playing a great match against us,” said Brock. “We had opportunities in those sets and matches to kind of turn the corner and pull away on our end, and they refused to let us do that. You can’t replicate these three-set matches in practice against great teams; you just kind of have to go through them. Hopefully, we’ll just continue to be more comfortable in those positions and be able to finish better.”
LSU will square off against No. 9 Florida International tomorrow morning at 9 a.m.
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Beach Volleyball Results
Tiger Beach Challenge Day 1
March 12, 2016 at Baton Rouge, La.
Mango’s Beach Volleyball Club
LSU vs. ULM (LSU wins 5-0)
1. LSU (Ashley Allmer/Katie Lindelow) def. ULM (Hope Pawlik and Taylor Zaeske) 21-18, 21-8
2. LSU (Helen Boyle/Lilly Kessler) def. ULM (Hadley Swartz and Kori Simpson) 22-20, 21-18
3. LSU (Cati Leak/Callan Molle) def. ULM (Kaitlyn Shearer and Claire Crossfield) 21-10, 21-18
4. LSU (Mandi Orellana/Cheyenne Wood) def. ULM (Delaney Drive and Catherine Griffith) 21-12, 16-21, 15-7
5. LSU (Victoria Boraski/Megan Davenport) def. ULM (Bayleigh Hoffman and Tara Jenkins) 21-13, 21-16
Exh. 6. LSU (Jeni Clark/Riley Young) def. ULM (Becca Brown and Jennifer McClendon)
LSU vs. Stetson (Stetson wins 3-2)
1. LSU (Katie Lindelow and Ashley Allmer) lost to Stetson (Sara Putt and Vendy Strakova) 21-19, 17-21, 15-10
2. LSU (Helen Boyle and Lilly Kessler) lost to Stetson (Kristin Lind and Rachel Noble) 21-16, 17-21, 15-9
3. LSU (Cati Leak and Callan Molle) def. Stetson (Emily Carroll and Kaylee Anderson) 21-14, 26-28, 15-13
4. LSU (Mandi Orellana and Cheyenne Wood) def. Stetson (Maddie Akins and Lauren Durham) 22-20, 19-21, 15-11
5. LSU (Victoria Boraski and Megan Davenport) lost to Stetson (Jaime Walsh and Alexa Richardson) 21-16, 22-24, 15-13
Exh. 6. LSU (Riley Young and Roxanne McVey) def. Stetson (Madison Tormey and Julia Varga) 21-17, 21-13