No. 11 LSU beach volleyball is having a productive season in the sand as they return home from the ULM Bayou Bash this past weekend.
With a 12-1 record, the Tigers have been unstoppable since the Beach Burg Invitational, where it only lost 2-3 against Florida State.
Since then, they’ve competed in the Tiger Beach Challenge, with matches against UT Martin (5-0), South Florida (4-1), Southeastern (5-0), ULM (4-1) and Northern Alabama for the second time (4-1).
“Finishing the weekend 5-0 was a big goal and to do that against some competitive teams was important for our season,” LSU head coach Russell Brock said. “There’s no doubt that we are better right now than we were last week.”
After the Tiger Beach Challenge two weeks ago, LSU traveled to Monroe to compete in ULM’s Bayou Bash, where it went 4-0.
The Tigers competed against the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks and the ULM War Hawks on both March 7 and 8, winning both.
With a clean sweep against both teams on Friday, freshman Camryn Chatllier once again stood out for LSU, defeating ULM, 21-17 and 21-14 alongside sophomore Tatum Finlason.
On that same day against SFA, Chatellier and Finlason went 2-0 with 21-14 and 21-16 wins on court three.
“I was proud of how we played more than anything,” Brock said. “But it’s always rewarding to see the results match up as well.”
As LSU went 5-0 against both teams on Friday, it continued to hit the ground running the next morning, starting against FSA.
Chatellier and Finlason once again claimed victory on court three, going 21-13 in both games.
While LSU’s sophomores Amelia Taft and Yali Ashush had to forfeit from a match on court five against SFA due to an injury, the Tigers still managed to defeat the Lumberjacks 4-1.
To finish off the weekend, the Tigers went neck-and-neck with the War Hawks for the third time this year with a 3-0 win.
In one of the highest scoring games of the invitational, LSU’s fifth-year senior Emily Meyer and redshirt sophomore Kate Baker topped ULM’s sophomore Bailey Hope and freshman Kaelyn Fredette-Huffman, 23-21 and 21-18, securing a win on court five.
“I’m so impressed with this group,” Brock said. “Really to only have the one injury loss, and we were up in that match, over the whole weekend is a fantastic showing.”
These victories set LSU beach volleyball at a 12-1 record and ready to hit the road this weekend for the East Meets West Invitational in Manhattan Beach, California.
