Once again, the LSU sand volleyball team fell a match short of victory Wednesday, with Tulane striking early and taking the contest, 3-2, at Coconut Beach in Kenner, La. 
All of the Tigers’ (2-4) losses have come with the same result against programs with more than a year of experience. 
LSU coach Russell Brock said balancing the squad’s expectations with its will to win has been a challenge early in the season. 
“It’s such a balance trying to stoke that competitive fire but also with the understanding that we’re a little bit behind the eight-ball,” Brock said. “That’s really the key for us … to expect to win, but understand there are going to be times when we’re out-gunned and we just have to fight hard.”
Brock said the experience the Tigers’ gained in the loss will prove to be invaluable to the future of the program. 
He noted that it was the first time his squad had played in a crosswind, something he can’t replicate in practice to help LSU prepare. 
“We talked about that, but if the wind doesn’t blow across the courts when you train, you’ll never experience it,” Brock said. “So it was a huge learning opportunity. You’d like to have those in practice as opposed to in your matches, but right now, we’ll take them where we can get them.”
The Tigers found themselves behind early, as Tulane (3-3) won the first two matches of the afternoon to take a 2-0 lead, meaning LSU would have to win all three of the top-seeded matchups. 
“Coming in, we knew our fours and fives were going to be a bit of a struggle,” Brock said.  “We’re making changes and we’re revamping that a little bit and trying to gain experience at that level. We hoped we could have gotten one. If we had gotten one of those, then we’d be OK.”
The Tigers came back strong in the second round of contests, as the second pair comprising senior Kaitlin Hatcher and junior Helen Boyle won their contest in consecutive sets and the third pair of sophomores Cati Leak and Victoria Boraski won in three sets. 
“We needed all three, and they fought hard and tried to get all three,” Brock said. “It could have been a situation where you need all three and you don’t think you can get them so you don’t even go out there and give it your effort, but that wasn’t the case.”
The deciding match came on court one, which pitted LSU’s top pair, senior Meghan Mannari and sophomore Katie Lindelow, against Tulane’s Tea Juric and Jackie Wegner. 
Mannari and Lindelow stayed close for a majority of the first set and even took a 15-13 lead before Juric and Wegner rallied for eight consecutive points to take the set, 21-15. 
The Tiger duo never led in the second set but kept it close as Tulane took the match and the contest with a 21-18 victory. 
Mannari said she and Lindelow kept high spirits despite the loss, especially considering they will get another chance against the Green Wave in Baton Rouge in LSU’s season finale on April 19. 
“The first thing we said after the match, Katie and I looked at each other and said, ‘We’re  playing them again,’” Mannari said.