TALLAHASSEE, FL – The No. 10 LSU Beach Volleyball team went 3-2 at the Unconquered Invitational in Tallahassee, Florida, defeating No. 15 Florida Atlantic, South Carolina, and South Florida. The Sandy Tigs are back at home next weekend, April 11-12, for the final regular season tournament for the 2025 season.
“It’s not very often that you can get to this point of the season and be playing really solid volleyball but also know for sure that we can still get better,” said head coach Russell Brock. “I’m so proud of the way we fought all the way through our lineup in every single match. It would have been really easy in the last match of the weekend to just come out and get a win. To battle back in a couple of matches to sweep for the finish just shows how hard our team is willing to play. I can’t wait to get to work this week to prepare for our last regular season home event. We are really looking forward to playing in front of our families and fans to honor our incredible seniors.”
LSU started the day with an AVCA Top 10 matchup against No. 8 Texas. In a match that came down to Court 4, the Tigers fell just short, losing the match 3-2. Aubrey O’Gorman and Julia Sprecher lost Court 3; 10-21 and 12-21, while Elle Evers and Camryn Chatellier lost Court 2; 17-21 and 17-21, to give the Longhorns a 2-0 lead in the match. Gabi Bailey and Parker Bracken got the first point on the board for the Tigers, winning Court 1; 21-17 and 21-13. This win marked the 100th win for Bracken in her career at LSU. She is the third Tiger to hit 100 wins—Claire Coppola at 121 and Kristen Nuss at 139.
Tatum Finlason and Kate Baker battled it out in three sets and won Court 5 to even the duel score at 2 points apiece; 15-21, 21-18 and 15-12. With the outcome of the match on the line, all the players, coaches, and spectators rush over to Court 4, which is in a deciding third set. Emily Meyer and Skylar Martin battled but fell just short, losing; 19-21, 21-17 and 10-15.
After a break, the Sandy Tigs faced South Carolina and finished the weekend off with a 5-0 sweep over the Gamecocks. Finlason and Baker got things started for LSU with a straight-set win on Court 5; 21-19 and 21-17. Bailey and Bracken followed in their footsteps, winning Court 1; 21-18 and 21-17. The remaining three courts battled it out in three sets that all went in LSU’s favor. Evers and Chatellier won Court 2 to clinch the win for the Tigers; 14-21, 21-17 and 15-10. Meyer and Martin won Court 4; 19-21, 23-21 and 15-9, while O’Gorman and Sprecher won Court 3 to round out the match; 17-21, 21-17 and 16-14.
TEXAS 3, LSU 2
- Gabi Bailey/Parker Bracken (LSU) def. Chloe Charles/Eva Liisa Kuivonen (UT) 21-17, 21-13
- Katie Harshman/Emma Grace Robertson (UT) def. Camryn Chatellier/Elle Evers (LSU) 21-17, 21-17
- Maddison Parmelly/Karin Zolnercikova (UT) def. Aubrey O’Gorman/Julia Sprecher (LSU) 21-10, 21-12
- Macey Butler/Noa Sonneville (UT) def. Skylar Martin/Emily Meyer (LSU) 19-21, 21-17, 15-10
- Kate Baker/Tatum Finlason (LSU) def. Vivian Johnson/Carys Patton (UT) 15-21, 21-18, 15-12
LSU 5, SOUTH CAROLINA 0
- Gabi Bailey/Parker Bracken (LSU) def. Jolie Cranford/Julia Waugh (SC) 21-18, 21-17
- Camryn Chatellier/Elle Evers (LSU) def. Morgan Downs/Riley Whitesides (SC) 14-21, 21-17, 15-10
- Aubrey O’Gorman/Julia Sprecher (LSU) def. VB Trost/Evie Ziffer (SC) 17-21, 21-17, 16-14
- Skylar Martin/Emily Meyer (LSU) def. Sadie Nelson/Julianna Quintero (SC) 19-21, 23-21, 15-9
- Kate Baker/Tatum Finlason (LSU) def. Lauren Lawson/Kennedy Westendorff (SC) 21-19, 21-17