LSU beach volleyball is breaking program records right after their season opener against top-ranked teams.

The Tigers rejoined the top-5 and were No. 4 in the AVCA and DiG polls, which is their highest ranking in program history. This came after the Tigers’ opening weekend where they went 4-0 in the FSU Invitational l taking down four top-ranked teams. This was also the first time in program history LSU was able to take down FSU .

The Tigers have since suffered their first loss of the season and sit at No. 6.

“That number in front has gotten smaller,” coach Russell Brock said. “It’s smaller single digit number. It’s not where we want it to be, but we also realize that the smaller that number gets the more responsibility we have to stay focused and to keep fighting. We have to find a way to get better or else the only place to go is back down.”

“Our mentality is we’ve earned that, we want that, but we’re not done and we know we can’t do what we did because that only got us this far. We’ve got to do more. We’ve got to do better and in a different way that allow us to be successful. We have rely on what we’ve done so it’s always new territory.”

LSU has never broken into the top-five since their program start six years ago. The past few seasons LSU has filtered through the top-10, but seven was their highest ranking until now. LSU has improved each year since their start and this season is no different. The Tigers started their season with leaps and bounds of improvement.

The ranking was much deserved after the fight the Tigers put up the prior weekend. LSU took down FSU , South Carolina , Tulane and Cal Poly . The highlight of the weekend was defeating FSU , which LSU hadn’t done in their previous five seasons. This was the first undefeated season opener for the Tigers since 2016.

“It’s definitely a big accomplishment for our program,” junior Kristen Nuss said. “It’s only the start of things. We’re super excited about the wins, but now we have the rest of the season.  Because of that No. 4 spot, I think it’s going out and proving to people that we deserve that it. That’ll be a confidence booster going in and we need that to showcase we are No. 4.”

Despite the Tigers’ new top-five ranking, the team still isn’t satisfied. They believe they can do better and want to prove that. LSU is fighting for that No. 1 spot and ultimately a National Championship. However, they know they have to take each day at a time and focus on the now to get to where they want to be.

The Tigers host their first home match in their new facility March 15 facing Coastal California . It’s been long awaited to play in the new facility on campus. The team hopes for a new era of fans who now have easier access to the matches.

“It’s so cool we;re leaving our mark on this program,” junior Claire Coppola said. “We can say we’re the first team to reach top-five and it leaves a stand. We need to keep pursuing every weekend to be the No. 1 spot in the country and this is just the beginning. We’re gonna keep pushing to get there.”