2021 LSU Season Recap
What a year! For Kristen wearing LSU has been a dream from the day she could say her first words. LSU is more than a school in this state. It’s a family, a feeling, an atmosphere that is undeniably unmatched. I experienced this the second I stepped foot on this campus.
Kristen and I were set to play on the 1’s court for the ‘21 season beginning in February in Houston, Texas. We had four games that weekend and won in straight sets. We were off to a great start as a team in the #1 ranked position in the country.
We came back home to our first tournament we hosted this year. We had our first match up against rival Florida State. They did come out victorious and we lost for the first time at home. This gave us a big push to be better. To beat them we knew we had more work to do.
The very next weekend we were off to Gulf Shores and it was a big weekend for us! We had 5 matches and 4 of them were against ranked opponents. We were able to fend off Grand Canyon, Tulane, and Georgia State in straight sets and pushed our Florida State game to a 3rd set. We were racing the sun to finish our match against them on the shallow beach in Alabama. That week we were chosen AVCA pair of the week. We we very honored but knew we had to get better.
Easter weekend we went out to California to play double headers against UCLA and USC. They were ranked 1 & 2 at the time we were playing them. On day one we were at UCLA in some of the deepest sand we have ever played in. The first match up on our court went to a third set with a final score of 27-25. We fought off 12 match points and just put our heads down and got to work. We were bound and determined to come out victorious. 3 hours later we played them again and won in straight sets. Kristen fell to the ground, she was on the verge of cramping for the last 10 points but she’s a fighter. She waited for the last ball to drop, the whistle to blow and then she came crumbling to the ground giving it her all. The very next day we bussed to USC to play the Trojans. Our opponent included a 6’2 blocker from Lativa who is qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Again, we decided to go to three sets. This time it all came down to our court and we did it. We won 15-13, with the help of all our Sandy Tigs we beat USC at their home. 3 hours later we were back to begin our fourth and final battle of the weekend, and just like the previous 3 we came out victorious. This one coming in straight sets.
Senior weekend was a very emotional time. It’s not every day that you get to wake up and realize all the hard work you have put into a program and team was coming to an end. 3-5 years of work and now it’s the last time to put on the coveted LSU jersey in our home stadium. This weekend we played for our fellow seniors and swept all 5 matches in two sets. That night Kristen was recognized for the greatest honor, winningest player in collegiate beach volleyball. She is in the history books and deserves it more than anyone else I know. She found out as they were announcing her name to walk across the sand and she broke down with passion and appreciation.
The conference tournament was scheduled to be held in Huntsville Alabama. This conference championship was a major goal for our team this year. We wanted it, we wanted it badly. We made it through the first and second rounds playing Missouri State and TCU. The next day we were able to match up against Florida State for the third time this year, we fell short. But the tournament was not over! We fought back against TCU and got a 5-0 sweep. In the finals we played FSU for the fourth time. Again, we fell to Florida State. All of the scores were very tight and we battled all the way to the end. As much as that loss hurt us, we are the Tigers and we continue to fight.
We ended our LSU Beach Volleyball careers on the white sandy beaches in Gulf Shores, AL at the National Championships. LSU finished in 4th place, after falling to the talented UCLA beach volleyball team. As a pair, we finished 36-0, which ties the record for the best record on Court 1 in college beach volleyball. Kristen ended her collegiate career going 139-21 in 5 years and I going 68-9 in 3 years.
8 weeks of playing. Writing it doesn’t even match the effort that was put forth for those critical weeks. A fourth place finish after the obstacles that we hurdled this year, and the fight the team had until the last ball dropped was truly amazing. We all went out fighting like tigers.
By: Taryn Kloth
