MANHATTAN BEACH, CALIF. – The No. 11 LSU Beach Volleyball team went 1-3 at the East Meets West Invitational, defeating No. 18 Hawaii while falling to No. 1 UCLA, No. 2 LMU and No. 7 California.
The Sandy Tigs are on the road for the third weekend in a row to Austin, Texas for the East Meets West tournament, March 21-22. LSU will face No. 2 LMU, No. 7 California, No. 10 Arizona State and No. 14 GCU over the course of the weekend.
“Really proud of our group this weekend,” said head coach Russell Brock. “We were challenged every time we stepped in the sand. Today we definitely made progress. Winning is always an inevitable measure in athletics. It would have been great to have more wins, but we finished on a great note and thankfully we have many more chances to not only improve but also to get some more big wins as we work through our season.”
LSU began the day with a 0-5 loss against No. 7 California, where three courts lost in straight sets while two battled it out in three. In the first wave, Aubrey O’Gorman and Julia Sprecher lost Court 2; 18-21 and 13-21. Elle Evers and Skylar Martin battled back after a first set loss to take Court 4 to three sets but ultimately lost; 13-21, 22-20, and 9-15 to give the California Bears a 2-0 lead going into the second wave. Gabi Bailey and Parker Bracken fell on Court 1; 16-21 and 21-19, while Emily Meyer and Kate Baker lost Court 5 minutes later; 17-21 and 18-21. Tatum Finlason and Camryn Chatellier rounded out the match with a three-set battle that ultimately went in California’s favor; 22-20, 16-21 and 10-15.
After a break, LSU faced No. 18 Hawaii and won the match three courts to one in a game that came down to a deciding court. Evers and Martin got the first point on the board for the Sandy Tigs on Court 4; 21-18 and 21-16 while O’Gorman and Sprecher lost Court 2 in three sets; 20-22, 24-22 and 8-15, to even the match at 1-1. Heading into the second wave, Finlason and Chatellier fell on Court 3; 13-21 and 17-21. Meyer and Baker evened up the match with a win on Court 5; 21-18 and 21-14 to make the duel score 2-2. With the match on the line, Bailey and Bracken took care of business, winning Court 1; 21-16 and 21-16, to give LSU the win.