New Orleans, La. – The No. 12 LSU Beach Volleyball Team will start its season at the Green Wave Invitational in New Orleans, Louisiana, where the Sandy Tigs will play five matches over the course of Friday and Saturday.
“Couldn’t be more excited about the opportunity to get this season rolling,” stated head coach Russell Brock. “It’s been a long time since we’ve had as productive a fall and spring training series as we’ve had this year. I’m really looking forward to the opportunity to compete against other programs, to see the progress our returners have made from last year to this year and to have our newcomers get their first taste of competition has been a long time coming. I’m so proud of this group for the work that they put in. This weekend will be the beginning of a great season.”
The Tigers will face No. 20 Tulane on Friday morning at 8:30 AM CT, followed by matchups against South Florida at 1:30 PM and Oregon at 4:00 PM. LSU continues play Saturday with matches against Texas A&M Corpus Christi at 11:00 AM and Spring Hill at 1:30 PM.
The Tigers bring back several key players from last season’s starting lineup, including, CCSA All-Tournament Team honoree Skylar Martin, and CCSA All-Freshman Team standout Camryn Chatellier. The team will look to leadership from the key returners.
The Tigers’ freshman class boasts an impressive group of athletes with decorated high school careers. Kenzey McGatlin, a two-time state champion from Valor Christian High School, was named honorable mention to the 2025 AVCA Junior Beach All-American Team. Juliana Johnson was a dedicated student-athlete earning 2025 Platform 1440 Fab 50. Rachel Seneff arrives as a standout volleyball player, excelling in both indoor and beach volleyball and has earned numerous individual accolades, including All-District Team honors (2021), Orlando Player of the Year (2021, 2024), Central Florida Player of the Year, 2023-24 Player of the Year, and 2025 Platform 1440 Fab 50 honors. She was also named the Orlando All-Area Beach Volleyball Player of the Year in 2024. Ryan Lambert is a standout multi-sport athlete. Her accolades include being named the 2023 Conference Player of the Year and the 2023-24 County Female Athlete of the Year. Molly LaBreche is a standout beach volleyball player that helped lead her team to back-to-back Division 1 State Runner-Up finishes in 2022 and 2023. In 2024, she claimed both the CIF Southern Section Beach Pairs Championship and the Bay League Beach Pairs Championship, earning the titles of 2024 Bay League MVP and 2024 All-Area Beach Pair of the Year. Her success extends beyond high school competition, as she finished second at the U19 USAV Trials, won the BVCA National Club Championship three years in a row (2022-2024), and captured titles at the 16U AVP National Championship and 16U CAL Cup. Allyn Brewer, an early enrollee, is a highly accomplished indoor volleyball player. She helped lead the runners-up to a Division I-5A state championship game in the 2024-25 season.
Zayna Meyer and Emily Hellmuth are two transfers that add even more depth to this talented team. Hellmuth comes to LSU after a great four-year career playing indoor volleyball at Pepperdine and Texas A&M University. During her time playing indoor, she was a lethal outside hitter with over 1,000 career kills. Three of her four seasons she recorded at least 300 kills and during a match in her final season, she recorded a career high .667 hitting percentage. As a senior last year, Hellmuth helped lead the Aggies to the NCAA National Championship Title with 72 digs, 45 blocks, 12 aces and eight assists. Meyer is coming to LSU following a four-year career playing indoor volleyball in which she finished her final season at UCLA with a total of 187 assists, 62 digs and 11 blocks. During the 2023 season, Meyer was named Big West Setter of the Year while playing indoors at Long Beach State and averaged 10 assists per set.