BATON ROUGE – The No. 12 LSU Beach Volleyball team went 4-1 at the Tiger Beach Challenge in Baton Rouge defeating Southern Miss, Houston Christian, North Alabama and UL-Monroe. The Sandy Tigs are back on the road for the next two weekends competing in the MPSF Coast to Coast Classic and East Meets West Invitational.
“This weekend was an important event for our progress as a program,” said head coach Russell Brock. “We had a lot of really strong performances and some incredible growth. The task ahead of us this week is to take all the experience we gained and things we learned and put them into our training to prepare for our next trip. We have a great season ahead of us and can’t wait to keep getting better.”
LSU started the day with a matchup against No. 18 Washington. The match started with a point secured by Bella Lagemann and Zayna Meyer on Court 4; 21-18, 13-21 and 15-10, while Kate Baker and Emily Hellmuth fell on Court 5; 21-13 and 18-21. The second wave of matches started with Camryn Chatellier and Aubrey O’Gorman falling on Court 3; 18-21 and 20-22. Julia Sprecher and Kenzey McGatlin battled to three sets but eventually fell to give the Washington Huskies the match on Court 1; 18-21, 21-17 and 7-15, while Tatum Finlason and Skylar Martin fell on Court 2; 26-28, 21-17 and 15-6.
After a break, the Sandy Tigs faced UL-Monroe and finished the weekend with a 5-0 sweep over the Warhawks. Baker and Hellmuth got things started for LSU with a straight set win on Court 5; 21-16 and 21-14. Meyer and Lagemann followed in their footsteps, winning in three sets on Court 4; 21-23, 21-19 and 15-10. O’Gorman and Chatellier won Court 3 to clinch the win for the Tigers; 21-11 and 21-14. Finlason and Martin gave the Tigers another point on Court 2; 21-4 and 21-15, while McGatlin and Sprecher secured a victory on Court 1 to round out the match; 21-18 and 21-18.
LSU 1, Washington 4
- Katarina Pantovic/ Emma Hohenaver (UW) def. Kenzey McGatlin/ Julia Sprecher (LSU) 21-18, 17-21, 15-7
- Telia Allen/ Mayamay Brown (UW) def. Tatum Finlason/ Skylar Martin (LSU) 28-26, 17-21, 15-6
- Niki Egan/ Mariana Tomasova (UW) def. Camryn Chatellier/ Aubrey O’Gorman (LSU) 21-18, 22-20
- Bella Lagemann/ Zayna Meyer (LSU) def. Sarah Wilcock/ Ella Tyus (UW) 21-18, 13-21, 15-10
- Alina Urzuva/ Avery Towne (UW) def. Kate Baker/ Emily Hellmuth (LSU) 23-21, 21-18
LSU 5, UL-Monroe 0
- Julia Sprecher/ Kenzey McGatlin (LSU) def. Abby Ryno/ Claire Williamson (ULM) 21-18, 21-18
- Tatum Finlason/ Skylar Martin (LSU) def. Avery Hunter/ Paige Ingersoll (ULM) 21-4, 21-15
- Aubrey O’Gorman/ Camryn Chatellier (LSU) def. Calli Otjen/ Izabela Zukowski (ULM) 21-11, 21-14
- Bella Lagemann/ Zayna Meyer (LSU) def. Katie Felts/ Natalie Taggart (ULM) 21-23, 21-19, 15-10
- Kate Baker/ Emily Hellmuth (LSU) def. Brooke Bankston/ Maddie Peterson (ULM) 21-16, 21-14