Brock Earns 100th Win as Beach Sweeps Through Opening Weekend
Published 7:00 am Wednesday, March 3, 2021
HOUSTON – After the No. 1 LSU Beach Volleyball team picked up two wins on Friday, the Tigers closed out their opening weekend of competition at the Houston Baptist Tournament with two more wins over ULM and HBU to sweep through their opening weekend.
“Overall this weekend was a great success,” said Coach Russell Brock who secured his 100th career victory in the Tigers’ victory over ULM. “It was clear that we got better every time we were in the sand and that’s really all you can ask for. I’m proud of the way we played and how hard we worked”
LSU’s pairs on the main five courts did not change from Friday to Saturday and every court aside from Court 2 won all four matches throughout the two day event.
“I thought our young players took advantage of their opportunity to get some early action,” said Brock. “I’m excited to see how they continue to grow. Our veterans were really good. Clearly there was some rust after a year away, but they played really well. I’m impressed with how fit we are and how we responded to two days of match play.”
The Tigers are back home at LSU Beach Volleyball Stadium next week where they have never lost a match. LSU will host the Tiger Beach Challenge and welcome Florida Atlantic, Florida State, Georgia State and Houston Baptist. The first three of those teams were all ranked in the preseason poll, including Florida State who was No. 3, meaning there could be a meeting of two top-three teams next weekend in Baton Rouge.
“I can’t wait to get back to work on Monday,” said Brock. “We have a big weekend at home coming up.”
LSU Beach Volleyball Stadium is closed to the general public this spring due to its limited capacity. Fans must be on a preapproved pass list in order to enter matches. Cox Sports Television will air all of LSU’s matches next weekend.
LSU opened the day with a 4-1 win over ULM. Kahlee York and Olivia Ordonez were dominant once again on Court 5, 21-8 and 21-10. Ellie Shank and Jess Lansman also showed how capable they can be as a pair on Court 4, dominating 21-10 and 21-8.
Taryn Kloth and Kristen Nuss made easy work on Court 1, 21-12 and 21-8, clinching the match for LSU. Both Courts 2 and 3 needed third sets to decide.
Reilly Allred and Claire Coppola won a close first set, 21-18, but feel 21-15 in the second set. ULM picked up their only court as Allred and Coppola dropped the third set, 15-10. Ashlyn Rasnick-Pope and Toni Rodriguez dropped the first set on Court 3, 21-18. They responded though, winning the next two sets, 21-18 and 15-8, as LSU defeated ULM, 4-1.
Closing out the weekend, the Tigers played maybe their cleanest match of the weekend in the rematch against HBU as LSU did not drop a set. Shank and Lansman got the Tigers rolling on Court 4, 21-14 and 21-10. York and Ordonez also kept rolling right along on Court 5, 21-15 and 21-14.
Once again Kloth and Nuss clinched it for the Tigers on Court 1, 21-14 and 21-11. Rasnick-Pope and Rodriguez finished their perfect weekend on Court 3, 21-16 and 21-17. Allred and Coppola rebounded to finish off the LSU sweep, 21-10 and 21-17.
No. 1 LSU 4, ULM 1
1. Kristen Nuss/Taryn Kloth (LSU) def. Blazek, Julia/Brooks, Audrey (ULM) 21-12, 21-8
2. McKay, Katie/Demmer, Anna (ULM) def. Reilly Allred/Claire Coppola (LSU) 21-18, 15-21, 15-10
3. Ashlyn Rasnick-Pope/Toni Rodriguez (LSU) def. Elder, Abigail/Gallant, Kayla (ULM) 18-21, 21-18, 15-8
4. Ellie Shank/Jess Lansman (LSU) def. Bufkin, Abbey/Moreland, Elizabeth (ULM) 21-10, 21-8
5. Kahlee York/Olivia Ordonez (LSU) def. Hoven, Brooke/Nowak, Kaitlyn (ULM) 21-8, 21-10
Ext. Lara Boos/Grace Seits (LSU) def. Reynolds, Avery/Ponthieux, Holland (ULM) 21-13, 21-13
No. 1 LSU 5, HBU 0
1. Taryn Kloth/Kristen Nuss (LSU) def. Harris, Lindsay/Bryan, Kylie (HBU) 21-14, 21-11
2. Claire Coppola/Reilly Allred (LSU) def. Butters, Maddie/Miller, Brennan (HBU) 21-10, 21-17
3. Toni Rodriguez/Ashlyn Rasnick-Pope (LSU) def. Huggins, Lauren/Stanfill, Allison (HBU) 21-16, 21-18
4. Ellie Shank/Jess Lansman (LSU) def. Bennett, Natalie/Alper, Mary (HBU) 21-14, 21-10
5. Olivia Ordonez/Kahlee York (LSU) def. Patillo, Megan/Kleymeyer, Kristen (HBU) 21-15, 21-14
Ext. Grace Seits/Melia Lindner (LSU) def. Griffith, Kylann/Kenney, Victoria (HBU) 21-10, 21-11