Women’s beach volleyball opens spring season by going 4-0 in dual matches at St. Andrews
2/14/2024 8:45:00 AM | Women's Beach Volleyball
Share:
Liberty swept its NCAA Division II and NAIA competition in North Carolina before traveling to play three NCAA Division I programs indoor in Ohio from Feb. 23-24.
Liberty University's women's beach volleyball team swept its three opponents at Friday's and Saturday's spring season opening tournament hosted by St. Andrew's University in Laurinburg, N.C.
The Lady Flames defeated NCAA Division II Carson Newman (Tenn.), 3-2, and St. Andrews, an NAIA program, 5-0 on Friday, before besting NCAA DII Spartanburg Methodist (S.C.), 5-0, and St. Andrews again, 4-1 on Saturday.
Cara Lecklider teamed up with Eliza Griffin at No. 3 doubles.
"This was the earliest we've ever traveled in the spring," Liberty Head Coach Jess Nelson said. "We usually start at the end of February so getting a little jump start was good for us to get on the road and play someone other than ourselves, to gauge where we're at and to see the level we need to play at in order to keep winning, and what we need to tighten up and work on. There were a lot of positives to take from over the weekend."
She said the Lady Flames' No. 2 tandem of sophomore Grace Cropper and junior Jillian Kater stood out for their consistency in how they approached their game.
"Their mental approach to the weekend was very encouraging, and they were able to execute with a lot of consistency," Nelson said.
Nelson was happy to welcome Payton Carter, who played outside hitter for four seasons on the Lady Flames NCAA Division I indoor volleyball team through 2020 before joining the beach team for three seasons as a graduate student — to serve as her assistant coach on Saturday. In the Spring of 2021, Carter teamed with Jenae Baker to become one of the first Liberty pairs to defeat a Division I duo, from the College of Charleston at a tournament in Wilmington, N.C.
"It was a great atmosphere to kick off our season and exciting to see (Carter) come full circle and be coaching with us," Nelson said. "She's been really great in coaching the girls, and it's been fun having her around."
The Lady Flames will travel to the Grand Sands Beach Volleyball Tournament at an indoor complex Loveland, Ohio, on Feb. 23-24, when they will play Eastern Kentucky and Tusculum (Tenn.) University on Friday and Morehead State (Ky.) University and Austin Peay (Tenn.) State on Saturday.
"We are really grateful to have the opportunity to play three NCAA Division I schools, and Tusculum, which is a really competitive NCAA Division II program," Nelson said. "We are excited to be challenged, and we will have to concentrate on executing and not backing down, which is how we will be training these next couple weeks."
Liberty 5, St. Andrews 0
1. Armstrong & Metzker won 21-10, 18-21, 15-11
2. Cropper & Kater won 21-13, 21-13
3. Griffin & Lecklider won 21-15, 21-8
4. Olson & Phillips won 12-21, 23-21, 16-14
5. Bentley & Luke won 21-12, 21-7
6. Avaree Kellert & Marable won 21-13, 21-13
Liberty 5, Spartanburg Methodist 0
1. Armstrong & Metzker won 21-13, 22-20
2. Cropper & Kater won 21-18, 21-17
3. Griffin & Lecklider won 21-13, 21-4
4. Olson & Phillips won 21-6, 21-14
5. Bentley & Luke won 21-11, 21-9
Liberty 4, St. Andrews 1
1. Armstrong & Metzker won 21-12, 19-21, 15-5
2. Cropper & Kater won 21-14, 21-15
3. Griffin & Lecklider won 21-10, 21-5
4. Olson & Phillips lost 21-14, 15-21, 13-15
5. Bentley & Luke won 21-15, 18-21, 15-7
6. Hall & Marable won 21-7, 21-15
.png&width=32&height=32&type=webp)
