Loaded field: Top 6 teams in AVCA Poll highlight Death Volley beach tourney at LSU

This week’s NCAA beach volleyball report takes an in-depth look at the colossal Death Volley Invitational, talking with LSU coach Russell Brock about how the mega-event came together and breaking down each of the eight nationally ranked teams competing before the cameras of VBTV on Friday and Saturday. We finish with a fast-paced rundown of the other dates on the sixth-week calendar.  

Do or die in Death Volley

Baton Rouge, Louisiana — of all places — is the site this week of what is likely the most stacked regular-season tournament since college beach volleyball became an NCAA-championship sport in 2016.

Forty percent of the teams in the AVCA coaches top 20 poll, including Nos. 1-6, play on Friday and Saturday in the Death Volley Invitational.

Host LSU and Coach Russell Brock have pulled out all the stops to make this a showcase easily accessible by fans nationwide, actually, worldwide. 

The name? A play on iconic LSU Tiger Stadium, the football venue referred to as Death Valley.

The format will match four teams from the East (AVCA No. 4 TCU, No. 5 Florida State, No. 10 LSU and No. 17 Florida Atlantic) against four from the West (No. 1 USC, No. 2 UCLA, No. 3 Stanford and No. 6 Cal) in crossover contests. All earned bids to the 2023 NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship, in which USC defeated UCLA in the final, FSU and TCU were eliminated in the semifinals, and LSU, Stanford and Cal were quarterfinalists.

“This is a landmark event for the East or the South,” Brock said this week, his voice filled with excitement. “In California, the schools there have pretty steadily been able to invite the Eastern teams to come out and do that East vs. West format. This is something we’ve always wanted to do, so to hold this in our stadium was a plan we hoped we could pull off. We made a serious run at it for this season.

“We have been able to attract two or three West Coast to come here, because it’s just a fun place to play in a terrific environment. Thankfully, we were able to generate great interest so we get to kick off the inaugural Death Volley Invitational with a tremendous field, and we hope to repeat this every year.”

All of the 16 duals over two days at LSU’s 2,000-seat lighted stadium venue in Baton Rouge will be streamed for free on Volleyball World’s VBTV platform and will include full commentary on the featured court. This will be the first on-campus collegiate beach event that VBTV has undertaken.

LSU has commissioned Mark Schuermann, the charismatic PA announcer of the pro AVP tour for the last nine seasons, to be the voice of the Death Volley Invitational.

Getting the popular VBTV streaming service on board transpired when Brock huddled with Volleyball World honcho Finn Taylor during the AVCA Convention held in conjunction with the NCAA women’s indoor final four in Tampa, Florida.

“I knew that Volleyball World was interested in collegiate beach volleyball because they had shown the AVCA pairs championship in the fall, kind of at the last minute,” Brock said. “I tracked Finn down and at the convention and had a conversation. He was excited about the possibility and he was incredibly helpful in a short amount facilitating this as an event that can be accessible through their (streaming) platform.

“Every match from Court 1 on both days will be telecast with their announcers, and the other five courts will be live-streamed without commentary. Fans can watch any court they want on VBTV for free – you don’t even have to be a member.”

Brock told VBM that the East side of the field wasn’t difficult to put together “because we do a lot of home-and-away with them anyway.”

Recruiting the West teams became easier when “I could say to the West side that they were guaranteed to play these teams, you’re guaranteed to play in our stadium, and it’s going to be a great event that you will want to be involved with.

“UCLA and Stanford had been here before and were excited about coming back. USC had been wanting to play here and they owed us a home date because we had played out there. So we were able to get a level of commitment from those teams, plus Cal.” and a powerhouse lineup was in place.

Click here for Volleyball World TV. The Death Volley Invitational is free, but you can use use Promo Code VOLLEYBALLMAG for a discount on monthly and annual passes.

Death Volley team by team

The loaded field with a “heat check” rating for each:

No. 1 USC (18-2) “sunspot hot”: The three-time defending NCAA champion Women of Troy have won 14 in a row (66-4 in matches) since dropping the goal-medal dual of the season-opening Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Classic in Hawaii to UCLA. That string includes ranked victories over TCU, Cal Poly, Long Beach State, Hawaii, Florida International, Washington, Florida Atlantic, Arizona and Grand Canyon. USC’s top pair of Megan Kraft and Delaynie Maple are 19-1. Competing mainly at the 3s, grad transfers Grace Seits and Maddie Kriz are 15-1. Sophomore Madison White is 15-2 on the 3s and 4s with five partners, including 6-0 with freshman Ashley Pater. It’s a safe bet that Coach Dain Blanton’s powerhouse enjoys more experienced depth than any team in the country.

No. 2 UCLA (15-4) “hot as a pistol”: The Bruins dispatched Florida State and LSU (both by 4-1 scores) during their East Meets West Invitational on iconic Manhattan Beach, so their most telling crossover this weekend figures to come against TCU. UCLA is 1-1 against archrival USC, 1-2 against Stanford and 0-1 against Loyola Marymount. But it holds victories over California, Cal Poly, Long Beach State, Hawaii, Arizona State, Washington (twice), Grand Canyon and Georgia State. Maggie Boyd and Lexy Denaburg are 15-4 at the 1s, Perri Brennan and Devin Newberry 17-2 at the 2s and Ensley Alden and Natalie Myszkowski 16-1 at the 5s (with a 14-match winning streak). The Bruins figure to be coming in fresh after a 13-day break to recharge their batteries.

No. 3 Stanford (14-2) “roiling boil”: The most prominent feathers in the Cardinal’s cap are a 3-1 combined record against USC and UCLA and a 3-2 victory on home sand against TCU. Noteworthy also are triumphs over Cal, LMU, Hawaii and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, mitigated by a 3-2 setback to host Arizona State during the Pac-12 South Invitational. Stanford comes in on a six-game roll, but the competition level was not as stout as what it will see in Baton Rouge. Top pair Brooke Rockwell and Xolani (10-6) have not been automatic, but Taylor Wilson and Ruby Sorra have gone 13-3 at the 2s and the Cardinal have logged records of 15-1 at the 4s and 14-2 at the 5s using various combinations. Freshman Claire Hoffman (13-3) and Clara Stowell (12-2) have proved highly serviceable additions to the lineup.

No. 4 TCU (18-2) “low boil”: The Horned Frogs will get chances for redemption in rematches with USC and Stanford, the only teams to beat them. A closer look at their .900 winning percentage, however, shows six “W’s” by 3-2 scores and half a dozen with 4-1 counts, so TCU has dodged a bunch of close calls. The Horned Frogs haven’t taken a sweep in their last seven victories. Nonetheless, TCU has beaten ranked LSU, Arizona State, Washington (twice), Florida International and Florida Atlantic. Coach Hector Gutierrez found an excellent replacement for Daniela Alvarez and Tania Moreno, the 2023 AVCA national pair of the year who left the Fort Worth school each with eligibility remaining to pursue the Olympics, and are solidly positioned to represent their native Spain in the 2024 Paris Games. Junior Hailey Hamlett and sophomore Anhelina Khmil are 19-1 (losing only to USC’s Kraft and Maple in three sets) and were named the AVCA national pair of the week after going 4–0 last weekend in TCU’s Fight at the Fort. As the preponderance of close scores indicates, depth has been an issue for Gutierrez’s squad and key cog Alex Parkhurst has encountered knee issues during the last two weekends.

No. 5 Florida State (19-2) “temperature’s rising”: The Seminoles’ only blemishes came during the East Meets West against UCLA and California, both by 4-1 margins. FSU bounced back last weekend on home sand with a sweep of the Midseason CCSA Tournament that included victories over LSU 4-1 and Grand Canyon 3-2. The Seminoles’ resume also shows “W’s” over LMU, Hawaii, Georgia State, FAU, Stetson and Tampa (twice). Madelyne Anderson did not play in the CCSA event. In the All-American’s absence Coach Brooke Niles had Alexis Durish (20-0 on the season) and Anna Long (18-0) climb the ladder from 4s to 3s to 2s to 1s with stellar success. The Seminoles have a bevy of proven players, such as Skyler Germann (13-3), Audrey Koenig (16-4), Raelyn White (17-3) and Alli Hansen (16-2), so Niles’ challenge is how to mix and match them. All of the Death Volley duals loom as highly significant for FSU.

No. 6 Cal (13-5) “simmering”: The Golden Bears rightfully have climbed the charts on the strength of victories over FSU, Loyola Marymount, Hawaii, Arizona State and Georgia State. But Cal dropped a 3-2 decision to LSU during the East Meets West, was spanked by Stanford 5-0 and has dropped two to No. 7 Cal Poly (21-2), including a momentum-sapping 4-1 defeat Tuesday on home sand, although in fairness to the Bears, four of the matches went to three sets. Cal’s most consistent pair has been junior Ella Driebholz and sophomore Portia Sherman, who are 14-3 at the 4s and 5s with the losses coming against UCLA, Stanford and Cal Poly. Sophomores Gia Fisher and Marilu Pally are 12-6 at the 2s and 3s. Strong results this weekend would go a long way toward solidifying a high seeding for the Bears in the NCAA tournament.

No. 10 LSU (12-5) “lukewarm”: The host Tigers have a ton at stake before their home fans because, realistically, they are underdogs against all four opponents. LSU went 2-2 last weekend at the CCSA round-robin, falling 4-1 to FSU and suffering a 3-2 upset to Grand Canyon. The roller-coaster Tigers also split four duals in the East Meets West, losing to UCLA 4-1 and Hawaii 4-1 while topping Cal 3-2 and Loyola Marymount 3-2. Other temperature-testing results include 4-1 victories over Washington and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, a 3-2 triumph over a solid Tulane (17-7) team and a 3-2 loss to TCU. The problematic courts for the Bayou Bengals have been the 1s (with a 7-10 record) and the 5s (10-7), while their 3s pairs have gone 15-2 and the 3s are 14-3. During the CCSA event, senior Ellie Shank (13-2), who had been slotted on the lower courts, was elevated to the 2s and, in the last day’s duals, to the top pair.

No. 17 FAU (12-7) “room temperature”: No huge red flags can be found in any of FAU’s losses (USC, TCU, FSU, Conference-USA rival Florida International, Arizona State, Georgia State and Tampa) and the Sandy Owls from posh Boca Raton have taken care of business against the teams they should beat. Their noteworthy victories came against Georgia State and South Carolina. FAU earned an automatic bid to the 17-team 2023 NCAA field as the champion of the C-USA Tournament, but the ante got steeper this year with the addition of TCU to the league. An upset against any of the teams on the stacked West side would raise the Owls’ profile with the NCAA selection committee. Courtney Moon and Marketa Svozilova (10-5) are a solid 1s pair, while Mikayla Law-Heese and Olivia Strandberg are 12-5 at the 4s and 5s.

Around the nation

No. 16 Grand Canyon (7-9), the only team in the AVCA Top 20 with a sub-.500 record, gained traction last weekend with victories over LSU and South Carolina and will seek to build momentum on Friday and Saturday during its Lopes Invitational. Visiting Phoenix will be No. 12 Arizona State (14-4), No. 18 Stetson (11-5) and No. 19 Arizona (14-3). GCU’s Krista Rowan and Sophia Hladyniuk went 4-for-4 at the 1s to earn CCSA pair of the week honors

No. 9 LMU (13-8) and the other six league teams will contest the West Coast Conference Midseason Tournament on Friday and Saturday in Santa Cruz, California. WCC pair of the week Allie Cataldo and Angie Bour went 2-0 last weekend at the 3s for Saint Mary’s (10-9).

Behind a 6-0 record at the 2s and 3s from Southland Conference pair of the week Hannah Doyle and Stephanie Young, No. 20 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (19-4) swept its matches in the league’s midseason seeding tournament in New Orleans. Next up on Friday and Saturday is its Islanders Invitational, which welcomes Texas, UT Martin, Stephen F. Austin and Texas-El Paso. UT Martin (9-5) went 4-0 in the OVC Weekend in Chattanooga, during which the host Mocs also won their four duals.

The remainder of the AVCA Top 20 — Cal Poly, No. 8 Long Beach State, No. 11 Hawaii, No. 13 Washington, No. 14 Florida International and No. 15 Georgia State — have the weekend off.

Cal Poly ran the table against six opponents in the Big West Challenge round-robin last weekend. Sophomores Ella Connor and Izzy Martinez were 5-0 at the 1s (including victories over Long Beach State and Hawaii) and were tabbed as Big West pair of the week. … As Georgia State plowed through four duals in the Sun Belt Conference Midseason Tournament last weekend, all by 5-0 scores, the Sandy Panthers’ feisty Ferary twins went undefeated on the top court without dropping a set. Angel and Bella picked up the league’s pair of the week award for the second time in 2024.

The Boise State Beach Classic on Friday and Saturday includes the host Broncos (19-8, going 5-1 in the Southland round-robin), UC Davis and Oregon.

College of Charleston, New Oleans, Mercer, and Alabama-Birmingham will join the host Ospreys in the North Florida Invitational in Jacksonville on Friday and Saturday.

Coastal Carolina (14-6) will look to extend a nine-dual winning streak in its Chanticleer Challenge on Friday and Saturday. The opposition in Conway, South Carolina, includes North-Carolina Wilmington, Erskine, Emmanuel and Catawba.

Utah (12-6) will play host to Texas A&M-Kingsville, Colorado Mesa and Concordia-Irvine in a Friday and Saturday competition.

Louisiana-Monroe will entertain Central Arkansas, Eastern Kentucky, Tarleton State and Hendrix on Friday and Saturday in its ULM Invitational.

In the Tampa Invite on Friday and Saturday, the host Spartans (13-9 and winners of six in a row) will greet Palm Beach Atlantic, Saint Leo and Florida Southern.

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