Columbia, S.C. – The LSU Beach Volleyball team won both its Saturday matches, including a win over No. 15 Pepperdine, at the Gamecock Grand Slam and improved to 13-0 on the season.
“Today was a really good day,” said head coach Russell Brock. “Coming into the weekend, we knew we had four tough matchups and the weather would be bad and we would have to play well. To come out of the Pepperdine match with a win and play well in the elements was a real testament to the work the girls are putting in.”
After an early morning 4-1 victory against No. 15 Pepperdine, the Tigers swept Louisiana-Monroe, 5-0, and finished undefeated at the Gamecock Grand Slam. The win against Pepperdine marked the fourth ranked team LSU has beaten this season in route to its program record 13-0 start.
“Couldn’t be prouder of how the girls played,” said Brock. “They worked really hard and stayed focused in challenging situations. We’re looking forward to spring break to get some work in before going to a big event in Gulf Shores next weekend.”
After spending a few days in Baton Rouge, the Tigers will hit the road again and head to Gulf Shores, Alabama for The March to May tournament. While there, LSU will play currently ranked No. 17 Georgia State and No. 7 Grand Canyon University on Saturday and No. 12 Florida Atlantic University, No. 19 South Carolina and No. 1 UCLA on Sunday.
The day started for the Tigers with a hard-fought 4-1 win over No. 15 Pepperdine. The Court 4 pair of Grace Seits and Kelli Greene-Agnew set the tone for the match, winning 21-11 and 21-19. On Court 5, Sierra Caffo and Ellie Shank also won, 21-12 and 21-18, to put LSU up 2-0 in the match.
Pepperdine picked up its lone point on Court 1, with Ashlyn Rasnick-Pope and Bella Bauman losing, 23-21 and 21-14. On Court 2, the pair of Kylie Deberg and Parker Bracken continued their fantastic season, winning 21-19 and 22-20 to clinch the match for the Tigers. Finally, on Court 3, Holly Carlton and Reilly Allred were able to win in three sets. After winning the first, 21-16, and dropping the second, 21-19, the pair won the third set, 15-10, as LSU walked away with another victory against a ranked opponent.
The last match of the weekend for LSU for a 5-0 sweep over in-state opponent ULM. All courts won in straight sets to finish things off for the Tigers on their road trip. On Court 4, Caffo and Shank won 21-19 and 21-13. On Court 5, Allison Coens and Lara Boos got the start and won, 21-21 and 21-14.
The Court 1 pair of Rasnick-Pope and Bauman bounced back, winning 21-10 and 21-17. Deberg and Bracken stayed perfect on Court 2, winning 21-10 and 21-15. On Court 3, Carlton and Allred completed the sweep, winning 21-18 and 21-15.
No. 5 LSU 4, No. 15 Pepperdine 1
- Paul, Melanie/Shields, Madison (PEP) def. Ashlyn Rasnick-Pope/Bella Bauman (LSU) 23-21, 21-14
- Parker Bracken/Kylie Deberg (LSU) def. Priebe, Simone/Thomas, McKenna (PEP) 21-19, 22-20
- Reilly Allred/Holly Carlton (LSU) def. Quintero, Juju/Lewis, Peyton (PEP) 21-16, 19-21, 15-10
- Kelli Greene-Agnew/Grace Seits (LSU) def. Frohoff, Rio/Baklenko, Cameron (PEP) 21-11, 21-19
- Sierra Caffo/Ellie Shank (LSU) def. Clermont, Kate/Benoit, Jordan (PEP) 21-12, 21-18
Ext. Sinclair, Mary/Greene, Savana (PEP) def. Allison Coens/Lara Boos (LSU) 21-17, 21-16
No. 5 LSU 5, ULM 0
- Ashlyn Rasnick-Pope/Bella Bauman (LSU) def. Brooks, Audrey/Blazek, Julia (ULM) 21-10, 21-17
- Parker Bracken/Kylie Deberg (LSU) def. Moreland, Elizabeth/Hoven, Brooke (ULM) 21-10, 21-15
- Holly Carlton/Reilly Allred (LSU) def. Gallant, Kayla/Adams, Rylin (ULM) 21-18, 21-15
- Ellie Shank/Sierra Caffo (LSU) def. Gray, Madison/Nowak, Kaitlyn (ULM) 21-9, 21-13
- Allison Coens/Lara Boos (LSU) def. Bufkin, Abbey/Elder, Abigail (ULM) 21-12, 21-14
Ext. Melia Lindner/Elizabeth Chambers (LSU) def. Reynolds, Avery/Williams, Madeline (ULM) 21-11, 21-11