The LSU sand volleyball team earned its first wins this weekend at the Gamecock Invitational in Columbia, S.C., finishing 2-2 at the tournament.
Both of the Tigers’ (2-3) victories came Saturday with 4-1 decisions, the first being against Oregon (1-4) and the second against South Carolina (4-6).
“We had a great chat last night after our match and added one objective to our goals: Play with confidence,” LSU coach Russell Brock said in a news release. “The team was waiting to play with fire and confidence until they felt that we deserved to play that way. As a staff, we made it clear that we were ready and deserved to play confidently. The girls responded today and beat two good teams.”
After splitting its first to matches with Oregon, LSU went on to win out for its first victory in program history.
Later Saturday night, the Tigers defeated the Gamecocks with a pair of three-set victories, including a match-clinching 16-14 third set from sophomore Victoria Boraski and sophomore Cati Leak to clinch the Tigers’ second victory of the day.
“Oregon was in a really similar situation as us with limited training with a lot of indoor kids, and I was really proud of how well our team played the sand game and came away with a big win,” Brock said. “Then to come out and beat a really good South Carolina team at their home in front of a really big and rowdy crowd said so much about the fight in our team and how far they have come technically.”
While the Tigers found success Saturday, they bookended their weekend with 3-2 losses to both College of Charleston (4-0)and Mercer (5-3) .
Friday, the duo of senior Kaitlin Hatcher and junior Helen Boyle once again fought off multiple match points in the second set for the second-straight contest, but this time they were unable to overcome the deficit, and eventually fell, 27-25, to Cougers junior Cara Howley and sophomore Melissa Morello.
LSU again fell a match short of victory Sunday against Mercer, as the Tigers’ No. 1 pair of senior Meghan Mannari and sophomore Katie Lindelow were unable to mount a comeback.
After suffering a 22-20 loss in the first set, the pair came back to dominate the second set, 21-13. But the two ultimately fell, 15-11, in the third in what turned out the be the deciding match.
“Every time we play, we will get better,” Brock said. “You can’t even measure how much we improved this weekend. Not only were we able to play four tough matches, but we were also able to watch a lot of other teams play.”
The Tigers will hit the sand again Wednesday when it travels to Kenner, La., to take on Tulane in the first ever meeting between the two young programs.
“All the experience and all the new information was invaluable for us going into next week against Tulane,” Brock said. “They will be another strong opponent, and we are looking forward to the challenge. We can’t wait to get back home and start training again.”