The No. 11 LSU beach volleyball team looks to improve its 11-6 record after a varied performance at the Green Wave Invitational on April 8 and 9.
The Tigers will travel to Columbia, South Carolina, to compete against Carson-Newman and South Carolina on Saturday and Coastal Carolina and UNC Wilmington on Sunday at the Palmetto Invitational.
On the first day of the Green Wave Invitational, the Tigers beat Houston Baptist, 5-0, and Tulane, 4-1, but fell to Arizona, 2-3, and Georgia State, 1-4, on the second day.
“Obviously, Saturday we took care of business and Sunday we did not, and we played well at times but not well enough,” said LSU coach Russell Brock. “If somebody plays better than us, that’s one thing. If we let them play better than us, that’s unacceptable.”
Brock said there would be minor changes in the lineup, but the team must come together and do what is necessary to overpower its opponents.
“I think the competition was definitely a lot harder on the second day, and there were some switches in the lineup that didn’t benefit us the way they should have,” said senior Helen Boyle. “But we learned from it. We hadn’t had a tough weekend like that in a while, so we just weren’t 100 percent prepared for it. But there is no excuse. We win some, and we lose some.”
The Tigers headed into last weekend having won five of their last six matches, but the split results at the Green Wave Invitational disrupted LSU’s moment.
In the first match against Arizona, sophomores Carly Morris and Cheyenne Wood lost in straight sets. But LSU took the lead, 2-1, with wins from sophomores Riley Young and Mandi Orellana, and seniors Cati Leak and Callan Molle.
Arizona fought back, though, beating the No. 2 duo of Boyle and sophomore Lilly Kessler in straight sets. Arizona took the match with its last win against senior Katie Lindelow and freshman Ashley Allmer.
LSU faced Georgia State for the second time this season. Georgia State took the lead, defeating the pair of senior Victoria Boraski and freshman Megan Davenport in straight sets with scores of 21-11 and 21-16. They also beat the duo of Young and Orellana in three sets. Kessler and Boyle got the Tigers a point, with scores of 21-12 and 21-17.
Lindelow and Allmer fought hard but fell in the third set to Georgia State. Georgia State accomplished a 4-1 victory against LSU when they defeated Molle and Leak in straight sets.
“Overall, we came in this week coming to improve our overall effort and take care of the little plays because they kind of got away from us, and they added up,” Wood said. “That’s what kind of cost us some games.”
Spearheading LSU is duo Boyle and Kessler, with 11 wins this season. The No. 3 pair Molle and Leak have six wins, and Orellana and Young have won two of their three matches.