With the weather finally kicking into proper spring gear, the LSU beach volleyball squad began their season on Monday in Houston, Texas.
“Today was a good day,” said Head Coach Russell Brock. “It was great to be back in the sand. I’m really proud of how we played and particularly our ability to get better on every court in every set.”
The squad continues their victory march as they picked up two more wins versus Houston Baptist University and Texas A&M Corpus Christi. The No. 1 ranked team extends its win-streak to 12 matches dating back to last season.
The ‘Sandy Tigs’ opened the tournament with a 4-1 win over HBU, the tournament’s hosts.

• Court 1: Taryn Kloth & Kristen Nuss – Won first match 21-11, won second match 21-9
• Court 2: Claire Coppola & Reily Allred – Loss 21-17, loss 21-18
• Court 3: Toni Rodriguez & Ashlyn Rasnick-Pope – Won 21-11, won 21-14
• Court 4: Jess Lansman & Ellie Shank – Won 21-17, won 21-13
• Court 5: Olivia Ordonez & Kahlee York –Won 21-8, won 21-13

The excitement came from court four: freshman Ellie Shank earned her first career victory with teammate Jess Lansman.
Court one dominated. Kloth and Nuss have successfully meshed playing styles together over the summer to become an explosive and dependable aspect of the team.
Court two battled through their early matches on Friday. They lost both sets by four and three points. Coppola is a veteran player who was teamed up with Allred in the Purple and Gold scrimmage last week, where they showed both their potentials.
Following their victory over HBU, the squad prepared to take on TA&M CC.
Every court won their matchups, 5-0. The pairings remained the same from earlier in the day.
On Saturday, the purple and gold will match up against the University of New Orleans at 8 a.m. and then play HBU for a second time at 2:30 p.m.
“I’m looking forward to tomorrow,” said Brock. “I think everyone is really embracing the chance to finally be competing again.”
Next week the Tigers will remain in Baton Rouge to host the Tiger Beach Challenge.