Baton Rouge, La. – The No. 10 LSU Beach Volleyball team went 1-1 on Saturday at the Death Volley Invitational; going 1-3 overall and defeating No. 1 USC.
“Overall, this weekend was great,” said head coach Russell Brock. “It would’ve been nice to have gotten a couple more wins, but we ended the weekend playing as well as we’ve played in the last few weeks. I’m really excited about where we are heading and looking forward to getting back to work on Monday.”
LSU is back on the road next weekend, April 5–6, for the Georgia State Diggin’ Duals in Atlanta, Georgia. The Tigers will face No. 15 Georgia State, No. 18 Stetson, Southern Miss and Florida Gulf Coast.
The Sandy Tigs started the day off with a big upset win against No. 1 USC, 3-2. Emily Meyer and Kate Baker lost Court 5; 11-21 and 14-21. Amber Haynes and Skylar Martin earned the first dual point of the match with a win on Court 4; 23-21, 18-2 and 15-13.
Both Courts 2 and 3 went to three sets and finished within minutes of each other. Parker Bracken and Reilly Allred won Court 2; 21-18, 12-21 and 15-13. Aubrey O’Gorman and Ella Larkin won a nail-biter on Court 3; 21-19, 17-21 and 19-17. Gabi Bailey and Ellie Shank lost Court 1 in three sets; 21-19, 13-21 and 9-15.
After a break, LSU faced No. 2 UCLA and lost 5-0. Gracey Campbell and Brook Blutreich lost Court 5; 14-21 and 17-21. Haynes and Martin lost Court 4; 16-21 and 21-11 and 12-15. Larkin and O’Gornam lost Court 3; 14-21 and 22-20 and 10-15. Bracken and Allred lost Court 2; 16-21 and 19-21. Bailey and Shank lost Court 1; 23-25 and 18-21.
“The event in general was a remarkable success,” said Brock. “It’s been few months coming together and there’s been a lot of people who put in a lot of work so to see it all happening in person and to know that the experience was something that has never happened before for our sport was really gratifying. So proud of our program and our support staff and our administration, for being willing to put in the work and make the investment to put on a class event that will for sure go down as one of the best beach volleyball experiences there has been.”
LSU 3, USC 2
- Megan Kraft/Delaynie Maple (USC) def. Gabi Bailey/Ellie Shank (LSU) 19-21, 21-13, 15-9
- Parker Bracken/Reilly Allred (LSU) def. Maddi Kriz/Grace Seits (USC) 21-18, 12-21, 15-13
- Aubrey O’Gorman/Ella Larkin (LSU) def. Audrey Nourse/Nicole Nourse (USC) 21-19, 17-21, 19-17
- Amber Haynes/Skylar Martin (LSU) def. Madison White/Ashley Pater (USC) 23-21, 18-21, 15-13
- Ainsley Radell/Mabyn Thomas (USC) def. Emily Meyer/Kate Baker (LSU) 21-11, 21-14
LSU 0, UCLA 5
- Lexy Denaburg/Maggie Boyd (UCLA) def. Gabi Bailey/Ellie Shank (LSU) 25-23, 21-18
- Devon Newberry/Peri Brennan (UCLA) def. Parker Bracken/Reilly Allred (LSU) 21-16, 21-19
- Kenzie Brower/Jessie Smith (UCLA) def. Aubrey O’Gorman/Ella Larkin (LSU) 21-14, 20-22, 15-10
- Tessa Van Winkle/Jaden Whitmarsh (UCLA) def. Amber Haynes/Skylar Martin (LSU) 21-16, 11-21, 15-12
- Natalie Myszkowski/Ensley Alden (UCLA) def. Brooke Blutreich/Gracey Campbell (LSU) 21-14, 21-17