The LSU beach volleyball team is ranked No. 3. They competed Saturday against No. 16 South Carolina, New Orleans and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
The Tigers won against New Orleans in the morning on Saturday, bringing LSU 5-0. LSU also went 5-0 against Texas-Corpus Christi, taking home a second win for the day. Then No. 16 South Carolina took home one win, but LSU still dominated a win bringing them to 4-1.
“We love to play, and to get a chance to play three matches in one day is challenging,” Head Coach Russell Brock said. “But this is the part of the season when we are really just trying to find ways to get better.”
For the New Orleans game, LSU had an advantage against New Orleans because UNO did not have enough players for Court Five. Jess Lansman and Sydney Moore got the team moving with two straight winning sets of 21-12 and 21-14 on Court Four. Lansman was known as the queen of blocks on Court Four.
The elite senior pair, Taryn Kloth and Kristen Nuss took home an easy win on Court One with two winning sets of 21-8 and 21-15. Nuss kept on spiking directly down the middle into the sand leaving the opposing pair speechless.
Claire Coppola and Kelli Greene-Agnew also won with two sets on Court Two 21-13 and 21-9. Ashlyn Rasnick-Pope and Toni Rodriguez ended the game on Court Three with wins of 21-15 and 21-12.
“Every match that is next is the most important,” Rodriguez said. “I think just taking it day by day is what is working for our team.”
The girls played the Texas A&M Corpus Christi second in the tournament. Olivia Ordonez and Kahlee York spiked their way to a first finish on Court Five with scores of 21-15 and 21-17. Lansman and Moore once again took home a win on Court Four 21-11 and 21-14.
Nuss and Kloth made the court shake with their win on Court One bringing them scores of 21-9 and 21-15. Coppola and Greene-Agnew played a close game on Court Two but ended up winning in two sets 21-15 and 25-23. Rasnick-Pope and Rodriguez won on Court Three 21-16 and 21-18.
The team finished their last game on Saturday against South Carolina. LSU and South Carolina are the only two SEC schools with beach volleyball programs, so it was a game to watch. Lansman and Moore had to play three sets on Court Four. They won the second set 21-22 and the third set 15-8.
Ordonez and York won on Court Five 21-13 and 21-18. Coppola and Greene-Agnew lost on Court Two in both sets with scores of 21-17 and 21-14. Kloth and Nuss took home their third win of the day on Court Three with scores of 21-16 and 21-7.
Rodriguez and Rasnick-Pope finished shining in the lights with a win on Court Three with scores of 21-17 and 21-19.
“Every match you play particularly in our sport exposes a little bit more of your game,” Brock said. “We saw some style in some players that we had not seen before.”
