The annual Purple vs. Gold beach volleyball game ended with a 14-10 Purple victory on Saturday. The two squads played four rounds to ready themselves for the regular season which begins next week.
For the Purple squad, the duo of Ashlyn Rasnick-Pope and Toni Rodriguez finished the day with a 4-0 record. The duo’s most remarkable victory occurred when they defeated All-Americans Claire Coppola and Kristen Nuss in a close match with a final score of 21-19. Rasnick-Pope and Rodriguez continued their success from last year when the pair finished with an 11-4 record together. The duo was named the CCSA All-Tournament Team when they finished the tournament with a 4-0 record. 
The team starts the regular season next week with their highest rank in program history; DiG Magazine lists them as the No. 2 team in the nation. The ranking has not clouded the team’s vision for its first championship run as they focus on maintaining consistency.
“We know what could happen at the end of the season, so I think it’s just us going out there and doing what we’ve been trained to do all fall and trusting the process,” said Rasnick-Pope
The team returns eight players who won at least 15 matches last year and carries over the chemistry that helped them finish third at the championship tournament.
“We’re so tight-knit that sometimes we probably spend too much time together,” said Rodriguez. “We have such a good trust with each other. Down the line, regardless of the pairs, I think everyone is comfortable with everyone.”
Next Saturday, Feb. 22, the team will travel to Honolulu, Hawaii as part of the Duke Kahanamoku Beach Classic. The tournament includes No. 5 Hawaii, No. 19 Stanford and No.1 UCLA. The following weekend, Feb. 28, the Tigers will host Houston Baptist and UCLA in a doubleheader at home. In 2019, UCLA claimed their second title in as many years and LSU defeated Hawaii for third place in the NCAA Championship.
With one week before the first regular-season match, Coach Russell Brock looks for the team to practice with whatever the Louisiana weather gives them.
As far as looking ahead to the elements in Hawaii, “I think it will be perfect Tiger weather,” said Brock.