LakePoint, Ga. – LSU's Claire Coppola and Kristen Nuss were honored for their outstanding opening weekend performance with the CCSA Beach Volleyball Pair of the Week award, the league announced on Tuesday afternoon.
The No. 1 pairing for the Tigers played exceptionally at the GCU Beach Tournament in Phoenix, Ariz. Coppola and Nuss showed some grit in the season opener when they defeated No. 14-ranked Cal Poly in three sets. After dropping the second set, they came back strong to win 15-7 in the third. The pair carried that momentum over to the second match, where they won comfortably against No. 10 GCU in straight sets (21-18, 21-11). On the next day, the duo returned to the courts and picked up an impressive win against No. 2 Pepperdine in straight sets at the top court. They won 25-23, 21-16 to move to 3-0 on the weekend. Coppola and Nuss completed the weekend sweep with a win against Nebraska in straight sets.
LSU heads to St. Augustine, Fla. to take part in the UNF Beach Invitational. They will play against Georgia State, North Florida, UNC Wilmington and Florida Atlantic on the second full weekend of the 2018 Beach Volleyball season.
CCSA Beach Volleyball Pair of the Week - Feb. 27th
Claire Coppola | Sophomore | Scottsdale, Ariz.
Kristen Nuss | Sophomore | New Orleans, La.
- Went a perfect 4-0 to start the season playing in the GCU Beach Tournament
- All four of their victories came at the No. 1 court, three of them in straight sets
- Opened season with wins vs. No. 14 Cal Poly and No. 10 GCU on the first day
- Posted an impressive straight-set win against No. 2 Pepperdine on day two of event
- Swept Nebraska in straight-sets to close out the weekend undefeated
- Heading to UNF Beach Tournament this week as 2018 season continues
Other Nominees: Anabela Sataric/Dorina Klinger, FIU; Francesca Goncalves / Sara Putt, Florida State; Ali Denney / Shannon Williams, South Carolina.
| Date | CCSA Pair of the Week |
| Feb. 27 | Claire Coppola / Kristen Nuss, LSU |