The LSU beach volleyball team gained early victories at the start of the 2017 season and aims to stay on the road to success until the end.
The Tigers look to move up in rankings as they compete in their last two tournaments before the CCSA Tournament and NCAA Championships.
The team earned its highest ranking in school history with the No. 7 spot in the American Volleyball Coaches Association and DiG Magazine beach polls.
However, seventh isn’t good enough, coach Russell Brock said.
“I think it’s a great validation of the work we’ve put in,” he said. “We respect the seventh position, but we are not satisfied with it. We know that our goals are set higher than that, and we know it’s going to be even tougher to get from where we started at the beginning to seven, to get from seven to higher up in the rankings.”
Freshmen Claire Coppola and Kristen Nuss spearhead the Tigers with a record of 16-3.
Seven of those wins come from ranked opponents, and four come from the Tigers’ latest escapades in Georgia State’s Diggin Duals tournament. The duo dominated against Georgia State, Jacksonville State, University of Alabama at Birmingham and Austin Peay, winning in straight sets in all four matches.
LSU swept the Diggin Duals to advance to a 14-5 record.
“I think that when they play well — when anybody is at the top of the line and plays well — it kind of just sets the tone for how we’re going to play,” Brock said. “For them, obviously they’re young, so starting the season we kind of want to work them into their role and give them the opportunity to understand the college game and understand how well they have to play to win at that level. Clearly, they’ve begun to embrace those opportunities to play at the top of the lineup and their record shows.”
The Tigers hope to maintain their momentum as they prepare to compete against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Houston Baptist, Tulane and Central Arkansas in Houston Baptist’s Invitational on April 8 and 9.
Brock has no doubt Nuss and Coppola will help advance the team to victories.
“We talk about tools that people have when they play the game,” Brock said. “Kristen, there really isn’t anybody faster when in the game. Her understanding of how the game is played puts her in a position to make a lot of plays defensively. That’s stuff that you can’t really teach so we’re working on other aspects of her game but she’s starting at such a great point. She has a great advantage.”
“Coming in, [Claire] was very highly regarded as a high school AVCA All-American in the beach coming out,” he continued. “There were only four first-teamers that came out of the high school ranks, and she was one of them. Clearly, she had the ability, well recognized, to be an incredible player. Her responsibility has been to understand how she can be better and she’s embraced it.”
LSU freshman Claire Coppola (14) celebrates a point during the Tigers' 4-1 victory over UNF in the Tiger Beach Challenge on Sunday, March 19, 2017, at Mango's Beach Volleyball Club.
