Things didn’t go as expected for the LSU sand volleyball pair of freshman Mandi Orellana and senior Katie Lindelow, as Orellana was not able to finish the play-in match against Pepperdine due to leg cramps at the AVCA National Championships in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
The loss came after LSU went 1-3 in pool play during the tournament.
Orellana and Lindelow took both of their matches to three sets on the first day, but sand volleyball’s No. 1 pair were not able to come out with a win.
In the first match against Loyola Marymount, Orellana and Lindelow lost the first set 21-16. They would come back to win the second set 21-16 before losing in the final set 15-11.
In the pair’s second match against UAB, it lost the first set in a nail-biter 21-19. The Tigers would again win the second set by an impressive score of 21-11 before dropping the final set 15-12.
“We maybe didn’t execute quite the way that we wanted. I thought we played well in both matches.” Said coach Russell Brock in a press release. “In those matches where you’re separated by a few points, the ultimate deciding factor to who got the victory would be hard to pinpoint.”
The Tigers faced ULM and Arizona in the final round of pool play before advancing to their match against Pepperdine’s Becca Strehlow and Lara Dykstra.
In the first match Orellana and Lindelow came back down one set to secure victory against ULM’s Marcella Araya and Michelle McNamee 18-21, 21-16, 15-6.
“Both teams are pretty evenly matched,” Brock said. “It’s coming down to that confidence and desire and fight. I’m extremely pleased with the way we battled back and improved through sets and really pulled away down the stretch.
Orellana and Lindelow fell to Arizona in straight sets in their second match 11-21, 17-21 to the sister duo of Madison and McKenna Witt.
“We’ve seen (Arizona) play a few times, and they were really good,” Brock said. “We didn’t play poorly, but they played at a really high level and didn’t give us any room for errors.”
The Tigers finished tied for third place with ULM and UAB, but advanced in the play-in match for Sunday’s bracket against Pepperdine due an advantage in point differential.
Due to Orellana not being able to continue, Pepperdine advanced to the next round and officially ended LSU’s season.
The Tigers improved their record to 14-9 this season after a 6-10 season the year before. Lindelow and Orellana finished with a 20-13 record including AVCA Championship play.
“I think realistically, when we got into our situation earlier in the season, I wanted to get Katie and Mandi the opportunity to get here to nationals,” Brock said. “It would have been great to have our whole team here, but I wanted to have a strong season and get above .500. I’m really proud of that.”