LakePoint, Ga. – LSU's Emmy Allen and Maddie Ligon had an outstanding performance in the East vs. West Challenge last week and were rewarded with this week's CCSA Beach Volleyball Pair of the Week honors, the league announced on Tuesday afternoon.
The duo played at the No. 3 court on the Manhattan Beach Pier last weekend and posted a 3-1 record for the Tigers against the nation's top teams. Allen and Ligon opened the tournament with a 21-15, 21-15 convincing victory against No. 4 UCLA. They followed that up with a dramatic three-set win against No. 3 USC. The LSU duo opened with a 21-14 win in set one, but fell in set two. In the third set, the duo was trailing 13-9, but found a way to tie it up and sent the final set to extra points. Allen and Ligon emerged victorious, winning 18-16 and clinching the dual for LSU. The Tigers became just the sixth program to ever defeat USC as LSU won 4-1.
On the second day of the challenge, Allen and Ligon started off strong again as they posted a straight-set victory against No. 1-ranked Pepperdine. Allen and Ligon defeated the Pepperdine duo of Heidi Dyer and Gigi Hernandez 21-14, 21-15. In the final match of the weekend, the LSU pair made things interesting against No. 3 Hawaii as their match went into a third and deciding set. Allen and Ligon fell 15-10, but still put up an outstanding performance going 3-1 against the nation's toughest competition.
LSU will be on the road once again this weekend as they head to Columbia, S.C. The Tigers will participate in the Gamecock Grand Slam and take on Georgia State, Jacksonville State, Pepperdine and the host Gamecocks. The first two matches will be played on Saturday, March 17th, with the final two duals scheduled for Sunday.
CCSA Beach Volleyball Pair of the Week - Mar. 13th
Emmy Allen | Graduate | Mill Creek, Wash.
Maddie Ligon | Sophomore | Bedford, Texas
- Posted a 3-1 record playing on the No. 3 court against some of nation's top beach volleyball teams
- Opened East vs. West Challenge with a straight-set victory against No. 4 UCLA
- Followed that up with dramatic three-set victory vs. No. 2 USC, winning 18-16 in third set
- Continued their brilliant play the next day defeating No. 1 Pepperdine in two sets
- Made things interesting in match vs. No. 3 Hawaii, won the second set but fell in three sets
- Helped the Tigers become only the sixth team to ever defeat the USC Trojans
Other Nominees: Erica Brok/Mackenzie Morris, FAU; Tiffany Creamer/Teegan Van Gunst, Georgia State; Madeline Mertz / Kaylie McHugh, Tulane University.
| Date | CCSA Pair of the Week |
| Feb. 27 | Claire Coppola / Kristen Nuss, LSU |
| Mar. 6 | Annika Van Gunst / Brooke Weiner, Georgia State |
| Mar. 13 | Emmy Allen / Maddie Ligon, LSU |