BATON ROUGE, La. – In their first flight as a duo at No. 2,
Rachel Kuhn and
Veronica Corcoran took a marathon back and forth opening set 34-32 and ultimately defeated No. 10 LSU's Haleigh Nelson and Emmy Allen in three sets in the day one finale of the Tiger Beach Challenge at Mango's Beach Volleyball Club. The University of New Orleans (3-9) fell to #RV College of Charleston (8-3) 5-0 and No. 10 LSU (9-9) 4-1 Saturday.
Ruhn and
Veronica Corcoran, paired together for the first time Wednesday, looked dominant at times and were able to secure a point for UNO versus the nationally-ranked and host Tigers.
Jordan Schumacher and
Kaitlyn Grice went three sets in both matches Saturday looking to upset two nationally-ranked clubs.
VS #RV COUGARS – LOSS 5-0
Schumacher and Grice forced a third set at No. 5 after rallying from a 21-15 setback in the opener with a 21-18 victory. However, Allison Beckman and Lauren Freed avenged the loss to the duo Wednesday in New Orleans with a 15-9 win to take the No. 5 point.
In the top flight,
Victoria Corcoran and Kuhn did the same, taking the second set 21-19 before falling to Krissy Mummey and Katja Ehlers 15-9.
Veronica Corcoran and
Cara Sander played a close second set at No. 2 (21-19) as did
Brianna Vega and
Madison Miller (21-18) at No. 3.
VS No. 10 TIGERS – LOSS 4-1
No. 2 went to Ruhn and
Victoria Corcoran and at No. 4, Schumacher and Grice took the opener 21-16 before LSU rallied to earn the point.
Blessing Dunn teamed with
Rhyan Rand at No. 5 and
Ally Carr and
Maxine Walsh competed in the exhibition.
PREVIEWING TOMORROW'S OPPONENTS
ABOUT THE HATTERS
With seven consecutive victories, Stetson moved up to No. 17 in the AVCA national poll. Three pairs have surpassed the 10-win mark – Sunniva Helland-Hansen and Carly Perales (12-3 overall, 7-3 at No. 1), Darby Dunn and Sammee Thomas (11-4 overall, 8-2 at No. 2) and Samantha Harris and Rachel Noble (10-5 overall, 9-4 at No. 3). Quinci Barker and Rebecca Ingram have won seven consecutive matches.
SERIES
Stetson won the lone meeting March 13, 2016 in Baton Rouge (5-0).
ABOUT THE BADGERS
Spring Hill escaped Digs Volleyball Complex with a 3-2 victory over the Privateers in the season-opening New Orleans Invitational. Emmarose Neibert and Emily Sullivan are 7-1 at No. 5.
SERIES
UNO trails the series 8-1 with the lone win coming March 18, 2016 in the Pelican Classic. Earlier this month, Kuhn and Sander took the top flight 21-18, 22-20 and Vega and Miller won No. 4 21-17, 18-21, 15-10.
NEXT UP
New Orleans battles No. 17 Stetson University (1 p.m.) and Spring Hill College (3 p.m.) tomorrow in day two of the LSU Tiger Beach Challenge at Mango's Beach Volleyball Club.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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