Manhattan Beach, California- The No. 6 LSU Beach Volleyball team split its Saturday matches at the UCLA Invitational in California.
The Tigers started the day with a tough battle against No. 3 USC, but ultimately lost, 4-1. After a brief break, LSU was back in action and took down No. 5 LMU, 3-2.
“Good day today. I loved the battle we had against USC,” said head coach Russell Brock. “Obviously we’d love to finish that, but if they’re playing well and it’s that tight across the board, we can hang our hat on that and understand where we are and continue to improve. Loved the way we played against LMU. To get another win against a great program like LMU is a great result.”
The win marks the second time this season LSU has defeated LMU. The Tigers now sit at 20-5 on the season.
On Sunday, LSU will face No. 9 Hawaii at 10:30 a.m. CT and No. 1 UCLA at 2:30 before heading back to Baton Rouge.
The day started for No. 6 LSU with a big matchup against No. 3 USC. The Tigers battled hard, winning on Court 4 and forcing third sets on Courts 1, 2 and 5, but ultimately lost to the Trojans, 4-1.
The Court 4 duo of Grace Seits and Kelli Greene-Agnew picked up LSU’s only point of the match, winning the first set, 21-16, dropping the second, 22-24, and winning the third, 15-10.
On Court 1, Holly Carlton and Reilly Allred battled after losing the first set, 20-22, wining the next, 21-19, but fell in the third set, 13-15. On Court 2, Kylie Deberg and Parker Bracken won the first set, 21-15, but lost the next two, 21-23 and 12-15. The Court 3 duo of Melia Lindner and Ashlyn Rasnick-Pope lost 18-21 and 17-21. Finally, on Court 5, Allison Coens and Ellie Shank lost the first set, 15-21, bounced back and won the second, 21-17, but lost the third, 10-15.
In the second game of the day for the Tigers, they defeated No. 5 LMU, 3-2. On Court 1, Bella Bauman and Bracken were defeated 17-21 and 19-21. On Court 2, Carlton and Allred lost 15-21 and 22-24.
The Court 3 duo of Deberg and Greene-Agnew on 21-19 and 25-23. On Court 4, Lindner and Rasnick-Pope won 21-17 and 21-15. Finally, the Court 5 duo of Seits and Shank won 21-19 and 21-15 to give LSU the win.
No. 6 LSU 1, No. 3 USC 4
1.Tina Graudina/Hailey Harward (USC) def. Holly Carlton/Reilly Allred (LSU) 20-22, 21-19, 15-13
- Megan Kraft/Sammy Slater (USC) def. Kylie Deberg/Parker Bracken (LSU) 21-15, 21-23, 15 12
- Julia Scoles/Delaynie Maple (USC) def. Melia Lindner/Ashlyn Rasnick-Pope (LSU) 21-18, 21-17
- Grace Seits/Kelli Greene-Agnew (LSU) def. Audrey Nourse/Nicole Nourse (USC) 21-16, 22-24, 15-10
- Sunny villapando/Mollie Ebertin (USC) def. Allison Coens/Ellie Shank (LSU) 15-21, 21-17, 15-10
- Lara Boos/Sierra Caffo (LSU) vs. Caroline Schafer/Shannon Scully (USC) no result
No. 6 LSU 3, No. LMU 2
- Megan Rice/Reka Orsi Toth (LMU) def. Bella Bauman/Parker Bracken (LSU) 21-17, 21-19
- Avery Poppinga/Marine Kinna (LMU) def. Holly Carlton/Reilly Allred (LSU) 21-15, 24-22
- Kylie Deberg/Kelli Greene-Agnew (LSU) def. Selina Marolf/Abbey Thorup (LMU) 21-19, 25-23
- Melia Lindner/Ashlyn Rasnick-Pope (LSU) def. Vilhelmiina Prihti/Macy Gordon (LMU) 21-17, 21-15
- Grace Seits/Ellie Shank (LSU) def. Isabelle Reffel/Jacinda Ramirez (LMU) 21-19, 21-15
- Allison Coens/Lara Boos (LSU) vs. Cassie Chinn/Madi Firnett (LMU) no result