Tag: LSU Volleyball

LSU beach volleyball wins AVCA 2023 Team Academic Award

The Tigers maintained a team GPA higher than 3.3 over the last academic year.

LEXINGTON, Kent. – The LSU Beach Volleyball team earned the USMC/AVCA Team Academic Award, maintaining a team GPA over 3.3 over the past academic year.

LSU was one of 45 NCAA DI beach volleyball programs to earn the award. The Tigers have sustained success in the classroom withing the beach volleyball program, having earned the AVCA Team Academic Award every year since 2016.

Combining success in the classroom with success in sand, the Tigers reached the NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship. LSU went 27-13 last season and reached the round of eight in Gulf Shores. Kylie Deberg and Ellie Shank were named AVCA All-Americans. Ella Larkin and Lara Boos earned AVCA Top Flight honors on Court 4. Melia Lindner earned the NCAA Elite 90 Award for the second year in a row with the highest GPA among all of the student-athletes competing at the NCAA Championship.

2 LSU volleyball stars named to Preseason All-SEC Team

Anita Anwusi and Sanaa Dotson were honored by the league ahead of the 2023 season.

Editor’s Note: The following is an official press release courtesy of LSU’s athletics department.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Middle blocker Anita Anwusi and outside hitter Sanaa Dotson graced the 2023 Preseason All-SEC Team, and LSU was picked to finish sixth in the SEC Preseason Coaches’ Poll announced by the league office Wednesday morning.

LSU accumulated 96 points in the SEC Preseason Coaches’ Poll. Kentucky, the reigning Co-SEC Champions, is favored to win the league and claimed 10 of the 13 first-place votes to finish with 142 total points. Florida, last season’s other Co-SEC Champions picked up two first-place votes and gathered 129 points, and Tennessee scooped the final first-place vote and came in at No. 3 with 113 points. Georgia follows at No. 4 with 106 points, and Arkansas rounds out the top five with 101 points.

Dotson was tabbed to the 2022 AVCA South All-Region Team after leading the Tigers with 3.66 kills per set (436 total) and 25 aces to go along with 49 total blocks and 2.25 digs per set last season. Dotson registered nine double-doubles and landed 20 or more kills in five matches in 2022.

Anwusi was a 2022 AVCA South All-Region Honorable Mention selection and led the Tigers with 1.14 blocks per set and 136 total blocks a year ago. Anwusi also contributed 1.86 kills per set (221 total) behind a .289 hitting percentage last season. The Houston, Texas native enters her senior season with 524 career kills and 346 career total blocks.

The Tigers open their 2023 campaign with a pair of matches against UCLA on Aug. 25-26 at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge. Season tickets for the 2023 LSU Volleyball season are now available and can be purchased here.

Directly support LSU Volleyball by contributing to the Volleyball Excellence Fund today!

 Preseason Coaches’ Poll

(First-Place Votes in Parentheses)

Place School Points
1. Kentucky (10) 142
2. Florida (2) 129
3. Tennessee (1) 113
4. Georgia 106
5. Arkansas 101
6. LSU 96
7. Auburn 89
8. Texas A&M 63
9. Ole Miss 42
Mississippi State 42
11. South Carolina 39
12. Missouri 30
13. Alabama 22

 

Volleyball Preseason All-SEC Team

Name, School Pos. Yr. Ht. Hometown
Jillian Gillen, Arkansas OH Gr. 5-7 Stilwell, Kan.
Taylor Head, Arkansas OH Sr. 5-10 Winter Garden, Fla.
Akasha Anderson, Auburn PH So. 6-3 Reston, Va.
Alexis Stucky, Florida S So. 6-2 Laramie, Wy.
Kacie Evans, Georgia OH Gr. 5-11 Wadsworth, Ohio
Sophie Fischer, Georgia MB Sr. 6-5 Fort Mill, S.C.
Eleanor Beavin, Kentucky L Jr. 5-5 Louisville, Ky.
Emma Grome, Kentucky S Jr. 5-9 Loveland, Ohio
Reagan Rutherford, Kentucky OH Sr. 6-0 Missouri City, Texas
Azhani Tealer, Kentucky MB 5th 5-10 Grand Prairie, Texas
Anita Anwusi, LSU MB Gr. 6-3 Houston, Texas
Sanaa Dotson, LSU OH Gr. 6-0 Houston, Texas
Sasha Ratliff, Ole Miss MB Sr. 6-2 Atlanta, Ga.
Morgahn Fingall, Tennessee RS Gr. 6-1 Fairfax, Va.
Logan Lednicky, Texas A&M OPP So. 6-3 Sugar Land, Texas

For the latest news and information on LSU Volleyball, visit www.lsusports.net/volleyball. Fans can follow the team on its social media outlets at www.facebook.com/lsuvolleyball and @lsuvolleyball on Instagram and Twitter.

LSU volleyball’s Anita Anwusi named to USA Collegiate national team

Anita Anwusi was an All-Region Honorable Mention in 2022.

Editor’s Note: The following is an official press release courtesy of LSU’s athletics department.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Middle blocker Anita Anwusi has been selected to join the USA Volleyball 2023 Women’s Collegiate National Team (CNT) announced Thursday evening.

Training will take place June 18-24 in Anaheim, Calif. alongside the Women’s National Team Olympic Champions as they prepare for the Volleyball Nations League.

Anwusi is the sixth LSU player in program history to receive the invitation to join the CNT which was formally known as the U.S. National A2 Program. Anwusi becomes the first player to represent LSU on the CNT since 2013.

Anwusi was a 2022 AVCA South All-Region Honorable Mention selection after leading the Tigers last season with 1.14 blocks per set and 136 total blocks. Anwusi also contributed 1.86 kills per set (221 total) behind a .289 hitting percentage last season. The Houston, Texas native has over 500 career kills and 300 total blocks.

Directly support LSU Volleyball by contributing to the Volleyball Excellence Fund today!

For the latest news and information on Tiger volleyball, visit www.lsusports.net/volleyball. Fans can also follow the team on its social media outlets at www.facebook.com/lsuvolleyball and @lsuvolleyball on Instagram and Twitter.

Ashley Shook to join LSU volleyball as full-time assistant

Shook, a former star player at Texas, was a volunteer for the Tigers last season.

Editor’s Note: The following is an official press release courtesy of LSU’s athletics department.

BATON ROUGE, La. – Effective July 1, Ashley Shook will join Head Coach Tonya Johnson’s staff as LSU Volleyball’s third full-time Assistant Coach.  

“I am excited that Ashley [Shook] is staying on our staff in a full-time role,” said Coach Johnson. “She is a great coach and has a great future ahead of her in this profession. She understands the game well and has always had a coach’s mentality, even as a player.”

Shook was the volunteer coach for the Tigers last season and helped the team reach the second round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament. Before joining LSU’s staff, Shook completed her two-year career playing beach volleyball at Washington. Before joining the Huskies, Shook was a four-year letter for indoor volleyball at Texas from 2017-2020 as a setter.

“I want to thank Athletics Director Scott Woodward, Senior Associate Athletics Director / Senior Women’s Administrator Miriam Segar and Head Coach Tonya Johnson for this opportunity,” said Shook. “It has been a blessing to be part of LSU Volleyball for the last year, and I look forward to continuing working with our dedicated student-athletes and staff. I am grateful to have played for and now work with Tonya [Johnson]. Her values, integrity and constant pursuit of greatness for our program both on and off the court will lead us to success for many years.”

As a student-athlete, Shook helped Texas win four Big 12 Championship titles and reached the NCAA Tournament each season, including an appearance in the NCAA National Championship match in 2020. Shook totaled 1,941 assists (8.19 per set), 390 digs, 120 kills, 102.5 total blocks and 18 aces in 182 games played during her tenure with the Longhorns.

Directly support LSU Volleyball by contributing to the Volleyball Excellence Fund today!

For the latest news and information on Tiger volleyball, visit www.lsusports.net/volleyball. Fans can follow the team on its social media outlets at www.facebook.com/lsuvolleyball and @lsuvolleyball on Instagram and Twitter.

LSU Beach Volleyball concludes title-chasing season in Gulf Shores

LSU Beach Volleyball has concluded its season.

LSU Beach had an impressive run in Gulf Shores at the NCAA Championship, but ultimately came up short Saturday evening when they fell to UCLA, 3-2. The match came down to the third set on Court 5 where LSU lost, 15-13. 

On the Courts:

Jess Lansman and Sydney Moore came out with the win on Court 4, 21-15 and 21-17. 

On court 2, Claire Coppola and Kelli Greene-Agnew fell to the Bruins, 21-19 and 21-13.

The unstoppable team of Taryn Kloth and Kristen Nuss maintained their perfect season by winning both sets 23-21.

The pair of Ashlyn Rasnick-Pope and Toni Rodriguez fell 23-21 and 21-18, giving the Bruins the opportunity to tie the match once again. 

Finally, Olivia Ordonez and Kahlee York were defeated in the third set, 15-13 with the Bruins claiming the match and surviving another day. 

The Tigers finished the season with a 27-9 record and remained a top-four team for the entirity of the year. 

This was an emotional ending for the Tigers who had high hopes of coming out National Champions after finishing off the 2020 season as the No.1 team in the country. However, they never got the chance to play for the title due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

All six seniors from last year returned to try their hand at securing the National Championship one last time. 

Claire Coppola, Taryn Kloth, Jess Lansman, Toni Rodriguez, Kristen Nuss, Olivia Ordonez and Kahlee York have reached the end of the road for their careers at LSU. 

This group of stand-out women have made both names for themselves and for the beach volleyball program here at LSU. Before their arrival, Tiger Beach had never made it to the NCAA Championship, and since their arrival LSU has never missed out on being invited to the big dance. 

Among the seniors is Kristen Nuss, the winningest player in the history of college beach volleyball. She put up a whopping 139 victories throughout her years here. Not far behind her is senior Claire Coppola-with 121 wins in her career-coming in as the fourth most in college beach history. 

As a dynamic duo, Kloth and Nuss put up a blistering 36-0 record this season, tying the best record by an undefeated pair on Court 1 ever.

Although the Tigers didn’t get the title they sacrificed heavily for, they came out victorious in many ways and have a bright future going forward as a young team. 

“We’ll forever be a team no matter what the wins and losses.”

Kristen Nuss stated as she concluded her last post-game interview for the Tigers.

LSU Athletics lands two nominees for NCAA Woman of the Year

Will Harrold or Zwiebel take home the honors?

LSU Athletics landed two nominees for the 2020 NCAA Woman of the Year Award on Tuesday. Ruby Harrold of LSU Gymnastics and Anna Zwiebel of LSU Volleyball were listed as the school’s selections.

The NCAA Woman of the Year nominees come from all three division levels of NCAA athletics. The award was introduced in 1991 and recognizes graduating female student-athletes who represented their school in academics, athletics, service and leadership.

Harrold’s recognition as an international student-athlete from Bristol, England gave LSU the chance to select her as a nominee. Usually, schools are limited to one selection.

Harrold became a star for the Tigers’ gymnastics team, especially in the vault, bars and floor lineup during her collegiate career.

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She was a three-time All-American, and helped lead the Tigers to five SEC Championships and two NCAA National runner-up finishes. She was a four-time SEC Academic Honor Roll selection and was named to the SEC Community Service Team.

Zwiebel finished her Tigers volleyball career as a top-10 setter, and her 2,238 assists ranks eighth all-time in program history. She recorded a career-high 65 assists against High Point in 2017.

Zwiebel became the first Tigers volleyball student-athlete to be a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-American, as she earned a 4.046 GPA in the classroom.

Each conference will select up to two nominees from their list of respective schools before sending the list to the NCAA Woman of the Year selection committee. The committee will then select the top 30 nominees with 10 selections from each division and the winner will be announced later in the fall.

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