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No. 5 Beach Volleyball Set to Begin Season in New Orleans

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No. 5 Beach Volleyball Set to Begin Season in New Orleans

Baton Rouge, La. – The No. 5 LSU Beach Volleyball team will start its season at the Green Wave Invitational where the Tigers will play four matches over the course of Saturday and Sunday.

“I’m excited to see grit and effort as we compete,” said head coach Russell Brock. “We’ve been working hard and competing more and more in practice and I’m really looking forward to getting to see us pour all the competitive energy out against someone else. Playing against each other gets hard at times so shifting into the part of the season where we can see some other jerseys across the net is a great thing.”

The Tigers will face Tulane Saturday morning at 9:30 a.m. CT followed by a matchup against North Alabama at 12:15 p.m. The Tigers continue their action Sunday afternoon with matches against Nicholls State at 12:15 p.m. CT and against UNO at 2:45 p.m.

The Tigers return a handful of familiar faces to the sand with lineup experience. The return of Kylie DeBerg, Ellie Shank, Grace Seits, Reilly Allred and Parker Bracken gives the team leadership to fall back on. Other Tigers that saw limited action last season will also be back, including Hannah Brister, Lara Boos, Ella Larkin, Cassidy Chambers and Amber Haynes and all will look to make an impact as well.

LSU Indoor Volleyball transfers Paige Flickinger and Josie Vondran will have the opportunity for lineup action this season. Flickinger has earned a spot on the SEC All-Freshman Team in 2020 and has had multiple double-double games throughout her three years on the indoor team. Vondran is a graduate transfer who played two seasons at both Ohio State and Dayton. As a Tiger, Vondran helped lead LSU to their first NCAA Tournament appearance under the direction of head coach Tonya Johnson.

The freshman additions of Kate Baker and Kelly McCloskey will also have the opportunity to compete for playing time with lineup spots to fill this season.

“This weekend I expect to see what we have been working on in practice the last few months,” said Brock. “I also expect to see a team loving and supporting each other passionately with great energy.”