Tulane University
Houston Baptist
Beach Volleyball Goes 1-1 Sunday to Close Weekend in Baton Rouge
Mar 1, 2020 | Women's Beach Volleyball
BATON ROUGE, Louisiana — The Tulane beach volleyball team (5-2, 1-1 CCSA) went 1-1 on Sunday to close out competition in the Tiger Beach Challenge, notching a 3-2 victory over Houston Baptist (RV) before falling to host No. 2 LSU.
"This weekend was the busiest and most competitive our team had to face this season," head coach Eyal Zimet said."Our conditioning, skills and mental fortitude were challenged and I am proud of the way we responded. We were able to get excellent performances from varying pairs in crucial moments to help our unit as a whole towards team victories. We'll watch video and work to improve this week prior to getting back on the sand to compete next weekend. We can't wait."
The Green Wave's No. 1 pair in seniors Kaylie McHugh and Eva Torruella fought to earn the win over HBU's Tori Hinojosa and Danielle Okeke in the first match of the day, falling in the first set with a 17-21 score before forcing a third set with a 21-7 win in the second and ultimately taking the final set, 15-12. The duo was right there until the very end against LSU's Kristen Nuss and Claire Coppola, but ultimately dropped the match (19-21, 20-22).
Junior Addie Hermstad and freshman Samantha Mehlman continued with their success from the No. 4 position to close out out the weekend, beating Huskies' Alison Stanfill and Lindsay Harris (21-7, 21-18).
Earning the win to get the match going on court five was juniors Rio Frohoff and Gabby Becerra, defeating Houston Baptist's Lauren Huggins and Danielle Wheeler in two sets, 21-16, 21-17.
Just short of pulling out a victory from the No. 2 spot against LSU was senior Tarin Mergener and freshman Kendall Peters. The duo was relentless against Tigers' Jess Schaben and Sydney Moore, forcing a continuation until the match ended with 22-20, 29-27 scores on the sand.
Following its 3-2 weekend in Baton Rouge, the Olive and Blue will remain in their home city next weekend, competing in the New Orleans Invitational on Friday and Saturday. Tulane will face Texas A&M Corpus Christi for a second time this season to kick off the weekend on Friday at 11 a.m., before matching up against Louisiana Monroe at 4 p.m., and ending the weekend on Saturday with matches against Texas A&M Kingsville at 2 p.m. and New Orleans (RV) at 4 p.m.
Tulane 3, HBU (RV) 2
No. 1 Kaylie McHugh/Eva Torruella (TU) def. Tori Hinojosa/Danielle Okeke (HBU) 17-21, 21-7, 15-12
No. 2 Natalie Bennett/Elsa Descamps (HBU) def. Tarin Mergener/Kendall Peters (TU) 21-16, 21-15
No. 3 Kylie Bryan/Maddie Butters (HBU) def. Ashton Mares/Ellie Leitko (TU) 21-16, 21-13
No. 4 Addie Hermstad/Samantha Mehlman (TU) def. Alison Stanfill/Lindsay Harris (HBU) 21-7, 21-18
No. 5 Rio Frohoff/Gabby Becerra (TU) def. Lauren Huggins/Danielle Wheeler (HBU) 21-16, 21-17
#2 LSU 5, Tulane 0
No. 1 Kristen Nuss/Claire Coppola (LSU) def. Kaylie McHugh/Eva Torruella (TU) 21-19, 22-20
No. 2 Jess Schaben/Sydney Moore (LSU) def. Tarin Mergener/Kendall Peters (TU) 22-20, 29-27
No. 3 Ashlyn Rasnick-Pope/Toni Rodriguez (LSU) def. Ashton Mares/Ellie Leitko (TU) 21-15, 21-13
No. 4 Taryn Kloth/Kelli Agnew (LSU) def. Addie Hermstad/Samantha Mehlman (TU) 21-11, 21-13
No. 5 Olivia Powers/Hunter Domanski (LSU) def. Rio Frohoff/Gabby Becerra (TU) 21-17, 21-13
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