BATON ROUGE – After earning three victories Saturday at the LSU Beach Invitational, the third-ranked Tigers earned two more wins Sunday to close out the tournament against Houston Baptist and Southern Miss.

“When we started the season we knew we had a good team,” said head coach Russell Brock. “As we have a pretty good sample size through the first few weeks, it’s clear that we are trending in the right direction.”

LSU is off next weekend before it travels to Southern California for a Saturday double-header at UCLA and a Sunday double-header at USC. Florida State will have double-headers against both USC and UCLA as well on opposite days as LSU. The four teams mentioned above have been inside the top-four the entire season up to today.

“To have two weeks to really get after it and to focus on some things we can be better at before we have a really big test is a huge opportunity,” said Brock. “We don’t get this opportunity very often. We’re looking forward to the chance to build on what we saw today.”

A beautiful day at LSU Beach Volleyball Stadium, LSU began with a 4-1 win over HBU in the morning. With all five courts playing at the same time, Olivia Ordonez and Kahlee York picked up Court 5 first for the Tigers, 21-15 and 21-7.

Courts 1 and 3 finished up in quick succession to give LSU the clinch. Taryn Kloth and Kristen Nuss remained undefeated for the season on Court 1, 21-12 and 21-14. On Court 3, Ashlyn Rasnick-Pope and Toni Rodriguezearned the straight-set win, 21-11 and 21-10. Claire Coppola and Kelli Greene-Agnew fell on Court 2, 21-16 and 21-13.

Jess Lansman and Sydney Moore rounded out the match on Court 4 with a 23-21 and 21-9 win.

LSU’s afternoon match lasted only 40 minutes as the Tigers swept Houston Baptist. Coppola and Greene-Agnew rebounded and earned a dominant 21-15 and 21-7 win on Court 2. Minutes later Lansman and Moore won on Court 4, 21-12 and 21-10.

Courts 3 and 5 finished in quick succession too. Rasnick-Pope and Rodrgiuez won on Court 3, 21-18 and 21-13 right as Ordonez and York wrapped up their Court 5 win, 21-12 and 21-10.

Kloth and Nuss finished the sweep on Court 1, 21-12 and 21-18, finishing LSU’s perfect weekend in the sand.

LSU 4, HBU 1

1. Taryn Kloth/Kristen Nuss (LSU) def. Lindsay Harris/Kylie Bryan (HBU) 21-12, 21-14

2. Brennan Miller/Maddie Butters (HBU) def. Claire Coppola/Kelli Greene-Agnew (LSU) 21-16, 21-13

3. Ashlyn Rasnick-Pope/Toni Rodriguez (LSU) def. Danielle Okeke/Natalie Bennett (HBU) 21-11, 21-10

4. Jess Lansman/Sydney Moore (LSU) def. Lauren Huggins/Allison Stanfill (HBU) 23-21, 21-9

5. Olivia Ordonez/Kahlee York (LSU) def. Mary Alper/Kristen Kleymeyer (HBU) 21-15, 21-7

Ext. Reilly Allred/Grace Seits (LSU) def. Kylann Griffith/Megan Patillo (HBU) 21-7, 21-4

 

LSU 5, Southern Miss 0

1. Taryn Kloth/Kristen Nuss (LSU) def. Kylie Grandy/Abbey Wilson (USM) 21-12, 21-18

2. Claire Coppola/Kelli Greene-Agnew (LSU) def. Valeria S. Papakyria/Haley Hop (USM) 21-15, 21-7

3. Toni Rodriguez/Ashlyn Rasnick-Pope (LSU) def. Breleigh Favre/Olivia Hepworth (USM) 21-18, 21-13

4. Jess Lansman/Sydney Moore (LSU) def. Hallie Phelan/Kai Norman (USM) 21-12, 21-10

5. Olivia Ordonez/Kahlee York (LSU) def. Kaylie Beck/Melanie Miller (USM) 21-16, 21-8