BATON ROUGE – The No. 12 LSU Beach Volleyball team went 4-0 at the Battle on the Bayou tournament, defeating Houston Christian, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Tulane, and New Orleans.
The Sandy Tigs are back in Baton Rouge, April 25-26, to host the CCSA Conference Championship. LSU will host No. 7 Florida State, No. 8 Texas and South Carolina.
“I’m really impressed with our team this weekend,” said head coach Russell Brock. “I’m really proud of how we defended our home sand and how we grew tighter as a group. Honoring our seniors by playing well and celebrating who they are as people is a cornerstone of each season that we play. Coming out with four wins was necessary this weekend.”
LSU began the day with a hard-fought match that ended in a Sandy Tigs win, 3-2. Skylar Martin and Emily Meyer started the Sandy Tigs off falling short on Court 4; 18-21 and 17-21, while Kate Baker and Tatum Finlason battled in three sets to win Court 5; 18-21, 22-20 and 18-16, to tie the match 1-1. On Court 1, 1,Gabi Bailey and Parker Bracken got off to a hot start, winning; 21-14 and 21-19, while Aubrey O’Gorman and Julia Sprecher continued the success and clinched the dual on Court 3; 21-16 and 21-15. Elle Evers and Camryn Chatellier fell short on Court 2; 13-21 and 13-21, to finish the match 3-2.
After a break, LSU faced New Orleans and defeated the Privateers 5-0 in a Tiger-dominant match. Finlason and Baker took care of business on Court 5; 21-8 and 21-12, while Evers and Sprecher won Court 3; 21-9 and 21-8, to have the dual score 2-0. Chatellier and O’Gorman dominated and clinched the match on Court 2; 21-16 and 21-13, while Martin and Meyer won Court 4; 21-17 and 21-14, to bring the Sandy Tigs to 4-0. Bailey and Bracken concluded senior day with a win on Court 1; 21-9 and 21-18.
“I couldn’t be more pleased at the work we did during the regular season and I’m excited for the opportunities that lie ahead as we gear up for the conference championship in the national championship event in Gulf Shores. These next two weeks will be a great opportunity to build and grow,” said Brock. “We have made progress every week this year as we’ve improved and the season has progressed. I expect they will make great strides in the next two weeks as we train for the most important events of our season.”
LSU 3, Tulane 2
- Parker Bracken/Gabi Bailey (LSU) def. Emily Heintzelman/McKenzie Cutler (TULANE) 21-14, 21-19
- Skylar Ensign/Molly Trodd (TULANE) def. Elle Evers/Camryn Chatellier (LSU) 21-13, 21-13
- Aubrey O’Gorman/Julia Sprecher (LSU) def. Sam O’Connor/Gigi Gallegos (TULANE) 21-16, 21-15
- Sara Hall/Samantha Green (TULANE) def. Skylar Martin/Emily Meyer (LSU) 21-17, 21-18
- Kate Baker/Tatum Finlason (LSU) def. Amelia Mullen/Avery Burks (TULANE) 18-21, 22-20, 18-16
LSU 5, UNO 0
- Gabi Bailey/Parker Bracken (LSU) def. Nikelle Lander/Ivana de Carvalho Pei24 (UNO) 21-9, 21-18
- Aubrey O’Gorman/Camryn Chatellier (LSU) def. Tristin Smith/Grace Hinchman (UNO) 21-16, 21-13
- Julia Sprecher/Elle Evers (LSU) def. Savannah Moberly/Ashley Salazar (UNO) 21-9, 21-8
- Emily Meyer/Skylar Martin (LSU) def. Renata Dykstra/Mona Salgado (UNO) 21-17, 21-14
- Kate Baker/Tatum Finlason (LSU) def. Ava Rixford/Jaedyn Newman (UNO) 21-6, 21-12