Gulf Shores, AL. – The LSU Beach Volleyball team won the nail-biting battle against No. 6 TCU, 3-2, at the NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship Friday afternoon and will face No. 3 Stanford Saturday at 12 p.m. CT on ESPN2.
“Today was amazing,” said head coach Russell Brock. “It was clear that we would need to play well and commit to battling for the full match. Clearly, we got behind early, but the resolve and commitment were even more clear! You could feel the momentum change halfway through and the Tigers were making a move! I am so proud of how all our pairs fought. There wasn’t one pair that didn’t play the way we train. We’ve expected Reilly and Parker to win big matches all year long and they continue to come through. I’m especially proud of Aubrey, Ella, Amber and Skylar. Since they started playing together half way through the season, they just keep beating teams that don’t expect to lose.”
Ellie Shank and Gabi Bailey fell on Court 1; 17-21 and 18-21. Courts 2–5 went to three sets to decide the outcome of the match and finished within minutes of each other.
Amber Haynes and Skylar Martin came back and won Court 4; 17-21, 21-17 and 15-9. Reilly Allred and Parker Bracken won a close third set on Court 2 to tack on the second dual point for the Tigers; 21-15, 16-21 and 16-14. Emily Meyer and Yali Ashush lost a three-set battle on Court 5; 21-17, 16-21 and 11-15.
Aubrey O’Gorman and Ella Larkin clinched the dual with a three-set nail-biter on Court 3, winning; 20-22, 23-21 and 15-12.
“Stanford is a solid team,” said Brock. “They’ve earned their seed. There’s no other option for us than to bring the same fight that we had today. We believe that we can beat any team out here, but that belief won’t get the win. We have to implement our game plan well and play with the energy and execution that a top team in the country deserves. Looking forward to a fantastic challenge.”
The Sandy Tigs are back in action tomorrow, taking on No. 3 Stanford at 12 p.m. CT on ESPN2. Live stats will be provided on StatBroadcast and follow @LSUBeachVB on X for live updates.
LSU 3, TCU 2
- Hailey Hamlett and Anhelina Khmil (TCU) def. Gabi Bailey and Ellie Shank (LSU) 21-17 21-18
- Parker Bracken and Reilly Allred (LSU) def. Sutton MacTavish and Alex Parkhurst (TCU) 21-15 16-21 16-14
- Ella Larkin and Aubrey O’Gorman (LSU) def. Emma Glagau and Ana Vergara (TCU) 20-22 23-21 15-12
- Skylar Martin and Amber Haynes (LSU) def. Morgan Williams and Tara Patton (TCU) 17-21 21-17 15-9
- Anete Namike and Olivia Clines (TCU) def. Emily Meyer and Yali Ashush (LSU) 17-21 21-16 15-11