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Grant Kauvar
Student Assistant in Communication
GULF SHORES, Alabama – The Tigers did not reach the NCAA championship game on Sunday by falling to first place USC, finishing third in Gulf Shores, the highest performance ever for LSU.
"To be in this position at the end," said coach Russell Brock, "I think it will take a few minutes – maybe after watching the final, we could see how much we may be close to one more step this year, it is impossible not to respect the progress made this year on this stage. "
It's the end of a historic year for the Tiger who, after the first week, was ranked among the top five for the first time in the program's history. They would stay at No. 4 for most of the year, finishing with a program record, 31 wins.
"It's an incredible race and an incredible season," said Hunter Domanski, a sophomore. "It hurts to fall just below. This will make us more hungry for next year.
The Tigers entered the NCAA championship as No. 5 seed and swept Pepperdine into the winners category. Friday afternoon, LSU would defeat Stetson, 3-2, in a match that would end in the third set on Court 5. For the first time in his history, LSU was qualifying for the semi-finals of the NCAA championship.
LSU would fall to UCLA, the reigning national champion, 3-0 on Saturday morning, but the double-elimination portion of the championship gave the Tigers a new opportunity to qualify for the championship.
USC fell on Stetson, 8th seed, in the first game of the championship, the first time that a top ranked player lost against the last. The Trojans made their way through the loser's fork to finally make their way to Sunday's semifinal against the Tigers.
Kahlee York and Hunter Domanski (Court 5) as well as Olivia Beyer and Maddie Ligon (Court 4) lost their first set, 21-17 and 21-19, respectively.
The Tigers fans came to Gulf Shores en masse and, after the first set, made their presence known, giving the pair of Courts 4 and 5 an extra boost.
It was York's first career appearance at the NCAA Championship and it was the first time she and Domanski had played together all year. After feeling one against the other in the first set, they were ready to fight.
"By playing together for the first time, we found things in the first set," said York. "We were much more fluent in the second set."
Domanski and York would dominate on court 5 in the second set against the Trojans, 21-13, forcing a third set.
"Kahlee took advantage of his opportunities to continue building his game," said Brock. "She and Hunter did a great job."
Like the Court 5 pair, Ligon and Beyer followed suit by taking the second set on Court 4, 21-17.
Domanski and York kept crying, winning the last set against Court 5, 15-9. Nine minutes later, Beyer and Ligon celebrated their comeback by winning the third set on Court 4, 15-13, giving LSU a 2-0 advantage over the Trojans.
To win the match, Courts 4 and 5 were essential for the Tigers, but they knew that even if they could do it in those places, the first three courts would be a challenge.
"We knew we had to do something special at one, two or three," said Brock. "One was our best shot just because Claire and Kristen were a really talented team."
Olivia Powers and Kelli Agnew would eventually abandon courts 2, 21-13 and 21-12 as USC joined its first court.
Claire Coppola and Kristen Nuss dropped the first set, 21-18, on the first pitch. Coppola and Nuss were perhaps not the best chance to send them to the championship, but were unable to force a third set, dropping the second, 21-18.
The first pair of LSUs have not lost a match since March 29, when they fell to UCLA in Miami. They finish the season with a record of LSU pairs for victories in one season, 32.
Toni Rodriguez and Ashlyn Rasnick-Pope would be the last domino to fall in the USC return effort. The pair of LSUs fell back to back in playoffs 3, 21-13 and 21-12, as the historic Tigers season ended.
"We can not look beyond the steps that have been made," said Brock. "We want to use that to keep building. We can improve in many ways. It's a good place to be when you finish third.
USC 3, LSU Tigers 2
1. Tina Graudina / Abril Bustamante (USC), def. Claire Coppola / Kristen Nuss (LSU) 21-18, 21-18
2. Sammy Slater / Terese Cannon (USC), Def. Olivia Powers / Kelli Agnew (LSU) 21-13, 21-12
3. Haley Hallgren / Alexandra Poletta (USC), def. Toni Rodriguez / Ashlyn Rasnick-Pope (LSU) 21-13, 21-14
4. Olivia Beyer / Maddie Ligon (LSU) Def. Maja Kaiser / Joy Dennis (USC) 19-21, 21-17, 15-13
5. Hunter Domanski / Kahlee York (LSU) def. Mollie Ebertin / Cammie Dorn (USC) 17-21, 21-13, 15-9
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