The LSU sand volleyball team split its pair of Sunday matches on the final day of the UNF Sand Invitational in St. Augustine, Florida, after losing both its matches Saturday.
The Tigers (3-6) fell to Florida International, 5-0, but prevailed in their next game against College of Charleston, 3-2.
Against FIU, the team lost five straight sets for the first time this season. Two-seed senior Cati Leak and sophomore Callan Molle were the closest to winning a set but fell, 21-18, 21-19.
“Florida International is a top-seven team in the country and just came off a win against a top-two team,” said coach Russell Brock. “They are a very deep team. We knew it would be a tall task for us and we would need to be at full strength but we are still shuffling the lineups a little”.
Following the loss, LSU bounced back with a 3-2 victory against College of Charleston. After winning two of the first three matches, the Tigers got a boost from their four-seed, which has been rare this season. Sophomore Katarina Raicevic and freshman Carly Morris won in straight sets, 23-21, 21-14, to secure the victory for the Tigers.
“We played several different pairs down at the four and five to give people opportunities to compete,” Brock said. “Katarina and Carly raised their level of play today”.
Brock also praised Leak and senior Helen Boyle, who won three of their four matches throughout the weekend. He said it’s important for LSU to have a pair it can consistently rely on for wins.
As for the team, Brock said it’s making small strides of improvement but can’t seem to put it all together on a consistent basis.
“We were more consistent today than yesterday, but it’s still something we need to work on,” Brock said. “We didn’t have as many dips in our play today, but we still need to work on our serve receives and passing. Even when our passing is where it needs to be, we’ll still practice it.”
The Tigers are still optimistic, especially with the three-day Tiger Sand Tournament at home coming up next weekend.
The tournament will begin March 20 as the Tigers host New Orleans at 5 p.m., followed by a match against North Florida at 6 p.m. They will continue play Saturday at 11 a.m. with a rematch against Florida International before a 2 p.m. start against Spring Hill. The Tigers will conclude the tournament March 22 at 9 a.m. with pairs bracket play.
“We are really excited to be playing at home next weekend, nothing like playing in front of our fans,” Brock said. “We are looking forward to having a big crowd.”
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