The No. 5 LSU beach volleyball team started its season at 4-0 after dominating The Green Wave Invitational in New Orleans this past weekend.
LSU picked up wins against Tulane, North Alabama, Nicholls State and the University of New Orleans en route to the perfect start.
The Tigers kicked off the weekend on Saturday morning against Tulane with Lara Boos and Ella Larkin securing the first win of the season on Court 4. The pair had a close opening set, struggling to make more than a two-point lead early on. After taking set one 21-17, Boos and Larkin walked away victorious with a second set win of 21-11.
While Court 4 was having success, Cassidy Chambers and Amber Haynes didn’t have the same luck on Court 5. Chambers and Haynes were able to tie the match with a 21-15 win in the second set after dropping the first set 16-21, but unfortunately lost to the Green Wave 15-12 in the third set.
The three remaining pairs hit the sand after the conclusion of the previous games and looked to break the 1-1 tie with Tulane.
Court 1 featured Fall AVCA Pairs Champions, Kylie DeBerg and Ellie Shank. With an early 6-2 lead, the duo closed out the first set with a 21-18 win and went on to take the match after a 21-14 second set win.
Court 2 followed the same story of success as Grace Seits and Parker Bracken opened their match with a 10-4 lead and took the first set 21-14. The second set was similar to the first with the pair taking it 21-15, moving the Tigers to 3-1 over Tulane.
Hannah Brister and Reilly Allred finished up the morning against Tulane on Court 3 after a 2-1 win. With a 21-16 first set win, the pair headed into a tie-breaking third set after dropping the second set 16-21. Closing out the match on a 7-3 run, Brister and Allred took the third set 15-10 to finalize the Tigers’ 4-1 win against Tulane.
Shortly after their morning with Tulane, the Sandy Tigs were back in action with the same pairings against North Alabama. Boos and Larkin continued their strong play from the morning and took the match convincingly on Court 4 with a 21-11, 21-5 win.
Chambers and Haynes struggled early on Court 5, exchanging points back and forth with the Lions before taking the first set 21-19. Avenging their morning loss, the pair won 21-17 in set two and secured their first win of the weekend.
After a close game in their 2-1 morning win, Brister and Allred came back with something to prove and finished their match with a quick 21-11, 21-9 win. Their victory on Court 3 put LSU at 3-0 against North Alabama, giving the Tigers a guaranteed win.
Seits and Bracken pulled off a 21-15, 21-19 win on Court 2, but the Lions continued to fight for a win against LSU on Court 1. DeBerg and Shank took set one easily, leading the whole time before closing it out 21-11, but set two didn’t go as planned for the duo as they lost 21-15. They were able to close out the match with a 15-11 set three win, ending the Tigers’ day with a 5-0 sweep of North Alabama.
The Tigers continued their weekend play against Nicholls State on Sunday morning. Two new faces were introduced in the starting pairs as Seits and Brister did not compete.
Haynes was moved to Court 4 and played with Melia Lindner. Haynes and Lindner cruised by Nicholls State to claim the first win of the day for LSU, taking set one 21-8 and set two 21-12.
Brooke Blutreich made her career debut on Court 5 with Chambers. The duo won the match 21-10, 21-15.
Boos and Larkin continued their weekend of play together and moved to Court 3. A straight-set win of 21-14, 21-6 from the pair put the Tigers at 3-0 over the Colonels, automatically giving the overall win to LSU.
DeBerg and Shank stayed together on Court 1 and grabbed another win for the Sandy Tigs in a quick 21-9, 21-6 sweep. Court 2 featured a new pairing of Allred and Bracken, but that didn’t change the expected outcome of a dominant win for the Tigers. The pair led the entirety of set one and took it 21-15 then quickly won the second set 21-7 to close out the morning sweep for LSU.
After a 5-0 victory against Nicholls State, LSU was back on the sand against New Orleans for their last match of the weekend. The Tigers went back to the pairs that played against Tulane and North Alabama.
Chambers and Haynes were back at it on Court 5, and after being the only pair to lose a match the day before, they made sure to end their weekend with a convincing win. The duo showed their best performance for their final match, walking away with a 21-12, 21-13 win.
The pair on Court 4 added another win to the column for LSU as Boos and Larkin took the match after a 21-12, 21-16 win. They finished their weekend of play together without dropping a set against any opponent.
DeBerg and Shank kept the trend of straight-set wins going for the Tigers and took their match with ease, winning the first set 21-15 and the second set 21-14.
On Court 2, Seits and Bracken struggled to break more than a three-point lead in the first set but eventually finished it with a 21-18 win. The pair went on to take the match with a 21-12 second set win.
With an early 8-5 lead, Brister and Allred took the first set 21-15 on Court 3. The second set posed more of a challenge for the duo as the Privateers kept the score even for a majority of the set. Determined to end their weekend on a high note, Brister and Allred were able to take the second set with a tight score of 21-19.
LSU went 5-0 against New Orleans and finished without losing a set on any court. After facing four teams and playing 20 matches, LSU left New Orleans having only dropped one match and four sets in total.
The Tigers return home this week to play UAB, Tusculum and No. 19 South Carolina on March 4. and North Alabama and Southeastern Louisiana on March 5 for The Tiger Beach Challenge.
