Horned Frog Challenge day one: No. 4 LSU beach volleyball suffers first loss of the season

The Sandy Tigs opened up day one of the Horned Frog Challenge with a 5-0 win against the University of Southern Mississippi, but fell short against No. 1 Texas Christian University, losing the match 0-5.

Gameplay opened up for the Tigers on Courts 4 and 5 against Southern Mississippi. Lara Boos and Ella Larkin took on Court 4 while Amber Haynes and Cassidy Chambers were over on Court 5.

Boos and Larkin took care of business with a 21-15, 21-19 straight-set win over TCU’s 4 pair, but Chambers and Haynes took a little longer to close it out on Court 5.

Set one for the 5’s went deep into extra points. Both sides battled back and forth, but in the end, the Tigers broke off the tie for the two-point winner and ended the set at 31-29. A beach volleyball set is typically won at 21 points, so for the first set to cap off at 31 points is an impressive feat from both teams.

Chambers and Haynes went on the take the second set 21-19 and put LSU on the board at 2-0 over Southern Mississippi.

After Courts 4 and 5 finished their matches, the rest of the Tigers and Golden Eagles took to the sand for the final three matches. 

Kylie DeBerg and Ellie Shank were on Court 1 for the Tigers and took the first set with a quick 21-10 finish. The pair got off to a 17-10 lead in set two, but the Golden Eagles were able to make a comeback late in the set to cut the lead to 19-17. 

Not letting the run affect their play, DeBerg and Shank hit an easy 2-1 run of their own to take the set 21-18. The win on Court 1 put LSU up at 3-0 against Southern Mississippi, giving the overall win to the Tigers.

Grace Seits and Parker Bracken were in and out with their game on Court 2. The pair took set one 21-13 followed by a set two win of 21-12.

The match on Court 3 went long as the Tigers fought to force a tie-breaking third set. Hannah Brister and Reilly Allred dropped the first set 18-21 but came back to take the second set 21-13. With the third set deciding who would walk away with a win, the Tiger duo led the whole set and eventually won it 15-10 to take the match.

After taking care of the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles in a 5-0 sweep, the Sandy Tigs got ready to take on No. 1 TCU. 

Taking on the No. 1 team is definitely a hard test, but it’s one LSU is familiar with. Last season, the Tigers faced and lost to the No. 1 team twice late in the schedule.  They were, however, able to come out with at least one win out of the five matches played each game.

Despite expectations for a hard-fought battle between the two teams, TCU took the dual in a 5-0 sweep over LSU. The Tigers didn’t go down easy, though, as three of the five matches played went to tie-breaking third sets.

The same starting lineup from the morning match against Southern Mississippi was used against the Horned Frogs. Court 4 and Court 5 were the first games up for this top-five matchup.

Chambers and Haynes were dealt with quickly on Court 5. TCU clinched its first game point of the day with a 15-21, 14-21 straight-set win.

Boos and Larkin opened gameplay hot, taking the first set 21-18, but they couldn’t quite finish it off. The Tiger pair lost the second set 17-2. As TCU forced a tie-breaking third, Boos and Larkin failed to hold a lead and lost the set 12-15. The loss on Court 4 put TCU up at 2-0 over LSU.

There was still a sliver of hope for the Tigers to pull off the upset, but achieving that required a perfect 3-0 finish from Courts 1, 2 and 3. Once Courts 4 and 5 were off the sand, the final three matches began.

Court 2 and Court 3 followed similarly to the previous opening sets—Brister and Allred, Court 3, and Seits and Bracken, Court 2, each took their first sets 21-19. Unfortunately, neither of the pairs was able to finish it off in set two and went into deciding thirds.

Meanwhile, on Court 1, DeBerg and Shank were battling back and forth with the Horned Frogs. The score stayed tied up for a majority of the set and headed into extra points before the Tigers lost 23-25. Keeping up the fiery play from the first set, the second set was filled with the same nonstop fight from both teams. 

After all of the scrappiness and grit displayed on both sides, TCU’s 1’s were able to close a tight second set 21-19, walking away with the match. The point earned from Court 1 put TCU at 3-0 against LSU, giving the dual to the Horned Frogs.

While Court 1 finished up, Courts 2 and 3 were still fighting in the third set in hopes of bringing home a win for the Tigers.

Brister and Allred regrouped for the third set on Court 3 after a disappointing 9-21 loss in the second. The score was as close as 10-11 before TCU finished it off 15-13. Seits and Bracken fought in the second set in an attempt to take one match for the Tigers, but TCU’s 2’s denied the easy win and took the second set 21-19. The LSU pair tried to keep ahead in the third but ended up dropping it 12-15. It was here that TCU was finally awarded a 5-0 sweep.

After the loss against TCU, the Tigers now sit at 10-1 on the season. The Tigers have another shot at the Horned Frogs this weekend before coming back to Baton Rouge to prepare for yet another hard challenge. 

After the Horned Frog Challenge concludes, LSU will spend a week training before heading to Gulf Shores, Alabama to participate in the March to May tournament on March 17-18. The Tigers will take on Georgia State University, UCLA, Florida State University and Mercer University. 

Facing the No. 1 team this early on in the season is a good thing, win or lose, because LSU has a long road of ranked opponents ahead of them. The March to May tournament may be tough on the Tigers as three of the four teams are currently ranked in the top 10, but with some play against the No. 1 team, one can image that LSU will be ready to fight.