Baton Rouge, La. -LSU freshman Claire Coppola received 2016 AVCA High School Beach Volleyball All-American honors the American Volleyball Coaches Association announced yesterday. Coppola is the second consecutive All-American for the Tigers, joining sophomore teammate Ashley Allmer, who earned first team All-American accolades last season. She is also one of just six players who earned first team recognition, as well as one of three players from the CCSA, including Carly Schneider and Katie Smith for South Carolina.
Coppola, a native of Scottsdale, Arizona, competed nationally at the AAU SOCAL Championships where she qualified for the PanAm Games. Coppola took first in the AAU Arizona Regionals and the Las Vegas Pursuit, and she also participated in the USAP High Performance A-Z team and for RPM Sand, Arizona’s top sand volleyball program. During her time at Xavier College Prep, Coppola garnered two state championships in the sand as team captain for the No. 1-ranked Gators.
Coppola will be joined by fellow freshmen Claire Coppola, Olivia Powers, Taylor Bradley and Kristen Nuss.
LSU returns 12 players, including four of five starting pairs. The Tigers finished 2016 with a No. 10 ranking and a 20-9 record, marking the best finish in program history.
For the latest information on LSU Beach Volleyball, fans can follow the Tigers on Twitter and Instagram @LSUbeachVB and @RussLSUbeach, or on Facebook by liking LSU beach volleyball.
2016 AVCA High School Beach All-America Team
Brooke Burling-Arizona
Claire Coppola-LSU
Morgan Martin-Hawaii
Kathryn Plummer-Stanford
Carly Schneider-South Carolina
Katie Smith-South Carolina