Baton Rouge, La. – The No. 5 LSU Beach Volleyball team goes 4-1 in the LSU Beach Invitational, falling to No. 4 FSU and moving to 17-5 overall.
“Overall, this weekend I think we grew as a team,” said head coach Russell Brock. “Proud of our fight and our focus. Today we hoped to get two wins, but had to settle for a hard-fought close loss again to a top team, and closed out with a strong quick win.”
The Tigers will travel to Manhattan Beach, California for the East Meets West Challenge on Friday and Saturday. LSU will face No. 2 USC, No. 3 UCLA, No. 7 LMU and No. 8 Hawaii.
“This is a big week to get ready for an important trip out to California,” said Brock. “Most importantly for the rest of today and tomorrow is to recover. When we start training, we have pinpointed some things that we know can help us be better by Friday. We only have Tuesday and Wednesday before we leave, so focus and energy in training will be crucial.”
The day started with a battle against No. 4 FSU where the Tigers lost 3-2. Hannah Brister and Reilly Allred starting things off with winning Court 3 in straight sets; 21-19 and 24-22. Grace Seits and Parker Bracken lost Court 2, 17-21 and 16-21. Brooke Blutreich and Amber Haynes battled on Court 5 and lost in three; 21-16, 12-21 and 12-15. On Court 4, Lara Boos and Ella Larkin fought to win in three; 21-18, 15-21 and 15-13. Kylie DeBerg and Ellie Shank lost the highly competitive Court 1, 35-33 and 21-14.
After a break, the Tigers came out hot sweeping Southern Miss 3-0. Book and Larkin took care of business on Court 4 winning, 21-12 and 21-8. Blutreich and Haynes won Court 5, 21-13 and 21-10. On Court 1, DeBerg and Shank won, 21-16 and 21-18, to finish off the day. Courts 2 and 3 did not finish.
FSU-3, LSU-2
- Maddie Anderson/Paige Kalkhoff (FSU) def. Kylie DeBerg/Ellie Shank (LSU) 35-33, 21-14
- Anna Long/Jordan Polo (FSU) def. Grace Seits/Parker Bracken (LSU) 21-17, 21-16
- Hannah Brister/Reilly Allred (LSU) def. Chloe Charles/Carra Sassack (FSU) 21-19, 24-22
- Lara Boos/Ella Larkin (LSU) def. Caitlin Moon/Raelyn White (FSU) 21-18, 15-21, 15-13
- Alexis Durish/Makenna Wolfe (FSU) def. Brooke Blutreich/Amber Haynes (LSU) 16-21, 21-12, 15-12
LSU-3, Southern Miss-0
- Kylie DeBerg/Ellie Shank (LSU) def. Vanessa Hurnikova/Ola Chudzik (USM) 21-16, 21-18
- Elizabeth Masters/Parker Bracken (LSU) def. Taylor Pierce/Reagan Sandlin (USM) 21-17, 15-15
- Hannah Brister/Reilly Allred (LSU) def. Hallie Phelan/Kellie Garraway (USM) 23-21, 15-10
- Lara Boos/Ella Larkin (LSU) def. Morgan Perry/Valeria Siakidou (USM) 21-12, 21-8
- Brooke Bluetreich/Amber Haynes (LSU) def. Ashlyn Rough/Madison Cassidy (USM) 21-13, 21-10