The LSU sand volleyball team will travel to St. Augustine, Florida to compete in the UNF Sand Invitational on March 14 and 15. The team will try to rebound after dropping three of five of their matches last weekend in Arizona.
“We played last weekend but this week we’ve watched film on the things we need to do better,” said coach Russell Brock. “This early in the season our main focus is to make sure everybody is on the same page and disciplined.”
The UNF Sand Invitational will begin for the Tigers (2-3) at 8:30 a.m. Saturday when they take on Jacksonville followed by an 11:30 a.m. match against Georgia State. LSU will finish off its trip Sunday with an 8:30 a.m. showing against Florida International and a 10:30 a.m. start against College of Charleston.
“We want to leave this meet with every team we played against to know what LSU sand volleyball is all about,” Brock said. “We want to show them LSU is a quality program and establish a respect and represent the LSU that’s on our chest.”
Coming off a disappointing weekend, the Tigers still had some bright spots with sophomore Emma Hiller, freshman Mandi Orellana and junior Katie Lindelow winning multiple sets.
Even though LSU did experience some success, Brock said last week there are things the team can improve on.
“We focused this week on defense,” Brock said. “Our blocking is something we have to be more discipline in. We got away from that a little last week and it costs us.”
With plenty of meets ahead, the Tigers won’t let a few bad matches ruin their season or tear them down.
“We’ve developed a lot of confidence through the offseason just by working, learning, and improving,” Brock said. “There’s a confidence that comes from knowing that you’ve gotten stronger, faster and have developed your game to the next level.”
The Tigers are trying to build upon the program and elevate it to the next level.
“Every meet we go into we expect to win,” Brock said. “We have specific goals for each individual player and pairing on things they can do better. We want to get wins, that’s the bottom line.”
You can follow Malcolm Poree on Twitter @MalcolmP_TDR.