BATON ROUGE — The No. 12 ranked LSU beach volleyball team (9-4) held a doubles bracket tournament on the final day of the LSU Beach Invitational at Mango’s Beach Volleyball Club on Sunday.
The tournament was single elimination and consisted of two brackets with the higher seeds getting a first round bye. The top three pairs for each team played in the Gold bracket, and the four through eight pairs participated in the Purple bracket.
LSU had at least one pair reach the semifinals in both brackets, including an all-LSU final in the Purple bracket with Carly Morris and Cheyenne Wood coming out on top over Roxanne McVey and Victoria Boraski.
“Whenever you’re in single elimination, all the chips are on the table,” said associate head coach Russell Brock. “You slip up once, and you’re done for the day. It was a good position to be in to have that sense of urgency, and there were some great teams in the tournament, and you really had to play your A game or you were done for the tournament. I thought it was a success as far as our opportunity to play at a really high level and to have to feel that pressure and execute.”
In the first round of the Gold bracket, No. 2 pair Mandi Orellana and Helen Boyle fell in straight sets to Grand Canyon by a score of 21-17, 22-20. At the four, Riley Young and Callan Molle lost in two sets to Ali Eager and Meghan Conway of Florida State 21-15, 21-10. Lilly Kessler and Cati Leak tallied a victory on court three against Grand Canyon in a two-setter 21-19, 21-17. No. 1 duo Katie Lindelow and Ashley Allmer returned to action and knocked off Grand Canyon in a tightly contested, straight set match 21-19, 21-18 to head to the semifinals. Leak and Kessler lost their next match in the quarterfinals to Florida State 21-16, 21-19. In the semifinals against Grand Canyon, Allmer and Lindelow were defeated in two sets 21-13 and 21-11 to cap off the Gold bracket for the Lady Tigers.
In the first round of the Purple bracket, No. 7 seed Addison Hoven and Jeni Clark defeated Grand Canyon in straight sets 21-19, 21-17 to advance to the quarterfinals. No. 6 pair Boraski and McVey garnered a win in a two-setter against Florida State 21-14, 21-19 to earn a spot in the semifinals. After a first round bye, Emma Hiller and Megan Davenport were defeated by Grand Canyon at the eight slot in straight sets 21-15, 21-13. Wood and Morris claimed a straight set victory over Grand Canyon on court five to also secure a berth in the semis.
McVey and Boraski found themselves in an early hole against Florida State in their semi match down a set. The pair rallied to grab the next two consecutive sets, edging the Seminoles 16-21, 21-15, 15-13 to reach the finals. Wood and Morris followed with an impressive straight set victory over Grand Canyon 21-19, 21-17, setting up the all-LSU showdown for the Purple bracket.
In the finals, Morris and Wood notched victories in straight sets 21-16, 21-16 to propel them to the Purple bracket title over McVey and Boraski.
LSU will return to action next Friday against Houston Baptist for the Green Wave Invitational in Kenner.
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Day 2 LSU Beach Invitational – Doubles Bracket Tournament
Single Elimination
Gold Bracket (No. 1-3 pairs)
Purple Bracket (No. 4-8 pairs)
Gold Bracket
First Round
(LSU 2) Helen Boyle and Mandi Orellana lost to (GCU 4) Brooke Razo and Kami Dickerson (21-17, 22-20)
(LSU 4) Callan Molle and Riley Young lost to (FSU 3) Ali Eager and Meghan Conway (21-15, 21-10)
(LSU 3) Lilly Kessler and Cati Leak def. (GCU 3) Rebecca Conrad and Chloe Jenkins (21-14, 21-15)
Quarterfinals
(LSU 1) Katie Lindelow and Ashley Allmer def. (GCU 2) Molly Turner and Ola Wachowicz (21-19, 21-18)
(LSU 3) Cati Leak and Lilly Kessler def. (FSU 1) Annie Montgomery and Macy Jerger (21-16, 21-19
Semifinals
(FSU 1) Annie Montgomery and Macy Jergon def. (FSU 2) Kayla Joyce and Katherine Plessy (24-26, 21-18, 15-9)
(LSU 1) Ashley Allmer and Katie Lindelow lost to (GCU 1) Mackenzie Phelps and Shannon Dugan (21-13, 21-11)
Purple Bracket
First Round
(LSU 7) Addison Hoven and Jeni Clark def. (GCU 7) Brandy Grant and Maggie Demore (21-19, 21-17)
Quarterfinals
(LSU 8) Emma Hiller and Megan Davenport lost to (GCU 5) Jordyn Sanchez and Emilee Erichsen (21-15, 21-13)
(LSU 6) Victoria Boraski and Roxanne McVey def. (FSU 7) Julia Thompson and Breana Edwards (21-14, 21-19)
(LSU 7) Jeni Clark and Addison Hoven lost to (FSU 5) Brooke Kuhlman and Blyss Harkness (21-16, 21-9)
(LSU 5) Cheyenne Wood and Carly Morris def. (GCU 6) Mia Sakasegawa and Kelli Iverson (21-15, 21-12)
Semifinals
(LSU 5) Carly Morris and Cheyenne Wood def. (GCU 5) Emilee Erichsen and Jordyn Sanchez (21-19, 21-17)
(LSU 6) Roxanne McVey and Victoria Boraski def. (FSU 5) Blyss Harkness and Brooke Kuhlman (16-21, 21-15, 15-13)
Finals
(LSU 5) Carly Morris and Cheyenne Wood def. (LSU 6) Roxanne McVey and Victoria Boraski (21-16, 21-16)
Exhibition
(LSU) Taylor Wilson and Emma Hiller def. Grand Canyon (15-21, 21-19, 15-13)
(LSU) Taylor Wilson and Emma Hiller lost to Grand Canyon (21-13, 22-20)