BATON ROUGE – The eighth-ranked LSU beach volleyball team will travel down I-10 to play four matches in the Green Wave Invitational, hosted by Tulane this weekend, April 6-7.
The Tigers are 16-9 and have won nine consecutive matches. LSU has won four of its last five matches by sweeping, 5-0.
“This is the time of year when we know that we have to improve every weekend,” said coach Russell Brock. “There are new challenges and and I’m are excited to see how we respond.”
LSU will face two ranked opponents this weekend and both of them will be on Saturday. The Tigers will open the weekend at 12:30 p.m. CT against host, No. 19 Tulane (14-10), the 10th meeting all-time between the two Louisiana schools. LSU leads the series 5-4 and has won the past five matches. Later on Saturday, LSU will face No. 12 Grand Canyon (9-12) at 3:30 p.m. The Tigers defeated GCU the first weekend of the season, 3-2, at the GCU Beach Tournament.
On Sunday, LSU will start early as it will take on Central Arkansas (7-2) at 8 a.m. before facing off with Houston Baptist (9-9) at 11 a.m. to close the weekend. The last time the Tigers faced Central Arkansas or Houston Baptist was last season at the HBU Invitational and LSU swept both matches.
“We know most of these teams, they are really good and we know that we have to play well,” said Brock.
CST will broadcast Court 1 of each match this weekend.
Tiger Trends
Claire Coppola and Kristen Nuss have been on Court 1 every match this season for the Tigers, amassing a 21-4 record including 13-straight wins, all in straight sets. 20 of the duo’s victories have been in straight sets.
At the LSU Beach Invitational last weekend, Haleigh Nelson and Mandi Orellana played every match on Court 2 together except the first match against UAB. The duo went 3-0 on the weekend. Nelson and Ashley Allmer took the opening match against UAB in straight sets.
LSU went 3-1 last weekend on Court 3 with the duo of Hunter Domanski and Olivia Powers. The LSU duo won in straight sets in all three of victories.
The Tigers swept last weekend on Court 4. On the first day of the LSU Beach Invitational, Megan Davenport and Emmy Allen defeated UAB and No. 15 Arizona. Davenport and Maddie Ligon defeated Texas A&M-Kingsville on Sunday before Tatum Ballard and Davenport defeated Jacksonville State.
Ligon and Riley Young went 1-1 on Court 5 last Saturday. Lilly Kessler and Kahlee York took the court in straight sets against TAMUK on Sunday. Ligon and York defeated JSU in the final match of the weekend.
After this weekend, the Tigers will have only one more weekend left of regular season matches before the postseason begins. The Tigers will host the Battle on the Bayou next weekend, April 14-15, and will have a senior tribute on Sunday.
Social
For the latest information on LSU’s beach volleyball team, fans can follow the Tigers on Twitter and Instagram @LSUbeachVB and @RussLSUbeach, or on Facebook by liking LSU Beach Volleyball.