LSU beach volleyball was named No. 7 in the DiG Magazine preseason poll, continuing the tradition being in the top-10 over the past two seasons.
LSU ended last season at No. 6 with a 27-14 record. They advanced to the NCAA Championship in Gulf Shores, but lost in the first round. The upcoming season features 12 returning players, including six of their main contributors.
The Tigers’ duo of Olivia Powers and Hunter Domanski will be returning, but has yet to say if they will continue working together this season. The duo went 15-11 in 2018 and competed at the Hermosa Beach in the USAV Collegiate Beach Championship. Domanski went 19-20 in the overall season, while Powers went 21-19.
Two of LSU’s finest, Megan Davenport and Maddie Ligon, will also be returning this season. Ligon is known for her spike and we expect to see her pull it out for her junior year. She went 25-12 last season, mainly duoing with Davenport. Davenport went 29-9.
LSU’s power duo of Claire Coppola and Kristen Nuss will return for the 2019 season. Coppola and Nuss have been LSU’s court one for two seasons and will continue to be. The duo’s offseason has put them in the position to be team leaders. Both juniors received the title at the USAV Collegiate Championship in May.
Both women earned a spot in the FISU World University Games in Germany to compete against the top players in world. They prepared all summer with USA beach volleyball coaches and at the USA facilities leading up to the Games. Coppola and Nuss has won 58 matches in the past two seasons and were named CCSA Pair of the Year.
The addition of six freshman will push the impact of the team as well as the addition of three indoor players and a former indoor All-American graduate transfer, Taryn Kloth. Kloth has earned multiple All-American honors, was Big East Championship MVP and led her team to the NCAA Elite Eight.
The past five years of LSU beach volleyball has been played at Mango’s Beach Club where the team went 20-1 at home over the past two season, including a 14 winning streak in 2018. However, this season the Tigers will play in their new venue in the heart of campus.
The Tigers will jump start their season February 16 with a Purple vs Gold scrimmage. They will play their first scheduled game February 23 in Tallahassee, then host their first ever on-campus home competition March 15.