The LSU sand volleyball team opened its season by winning two out of five matches at the Arizona Invitational.
The Tigers (2-3) began play Friday, splitting the two matches against Tulane and Arizona State. They lost the first match to Tulane by a score of 3-2, but they rebounded in the next match to defeat Arizona State, 4-1.
“For us, the bottom line [for the Tulane match] is nerves,” said LSU coach Russell Brock in a news release. “ We had a bunch of players out there that had never been in that situation before. These are young players who are playing in their first collegiate match.”
The Tigers found a way to turn things around in the second match as freshmen Cheyenne Wood and Riley Young secured a point in straight sets, 21-16, 21-10 to give LSU a 1-0 lead.
Arizona State tied the match at 1-1 before the Tigers pulled away. Freshman Carly Morris and sophomore Emma Hiller won the second set, 21-12, while freshman Mandi Orellana and junior Katie Lindelow won their match in straight sets, 22-20, 21-10. The pairs of senior Helen Boyle and freshman Lilly Kessler and junior Cati Leak and sophomore Callan Molle found their way to three set wins.
Day two of the event didn’t go so well for the Tigers, who fell to Arizona by a score of 4-1.
The Wildcats started the match with an early lead when Taylor Arizobal and Allie Cook defeated LSU’s Hiller and junior Emily Ehrle, 21-13, 21-18 on straight sets.
Hiller and senior Laura Whalen took the next set, 21-17, 21-15 on straight sets to help tie the match for LSU, but that was as close as it got for the Tigers.
Arizona regained the lead as Boyle and Kessler lost their match in straight sets. Orellana and Lindelow also were unable to pull off the victory, falling to Kaitlyn Leary and Madi Kingdon by a score of 21-6, 21-17.
The Tigers wrapped up their trip to Arizona on Sunday with a split, losing their first match with Grand Canyon, 3-2, before coming back to defeat New Mexico, 4-1.
In the opening match, the pair of Morris and Ehrle lost in straight sets, 21-16, 21-18 to give Grand Canyon a 1-0 lead. Young and Wood rallied in a three set battle 15-21, 21-14, 15-12 to tie the match at one apiece.
After dropping the first two sets, Molle and Leak responded, winning the next match, 26-24, 21-18 to give LSU its second point of the match.
LSU was ultimately unable to hold against Grand Canyon on as Boyle and Whalen lost in the second set, 21-14, and Lindelow and Orellana lost their final set 21-18.
“Grand Canyon was strong at the top, and we battled hard,” Brock said. “We didn’t play particularly poorly, but we couldn’t pull out another win that we needed.”
The team rebounded against New Mexico in the final match of the invitational as Wood and Young won in straight sets to take the lead a 1-0 lead for the Tigers.
New Mexico tied the game at 1-1, but that was their last win for the day. LSU regained the lead and never gave it up with the pairs of Leak and Molle and Lindelow and Orellana both winning in straight sets. The team finished off its 4-1 victory with Boyle and Whalen winning a three set match 21-19, 16-21, 15-10.
“Overall, I think we’re a little disappointed with the outcome,” Brock said. “We had opportunities to make a better showing, and that’s what we have to work on this week: how to reach our potential and get better.”
The Tigers travel to Jacksonville, Florida next weekend for the UNF Sand Invitational on March 14-15. LSU’s opponents have not yet been announced.
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