NEW ORLEANS, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University beach volleyball team split a pair of matches to begin its season opener in the Tulane Invitational Friday afternoon at the White Sands Volleyball Courts.
 
The Lady Lions fell in a 5-0 sweep in their first match against Tulane. Pairs Alexis Logarbo and Mia McKinney battled on court one, but dropped 13-21, 10-21. Hicks/Sauers fought to avoid the sweep against the Green Wave on court two with three sets, but ended the final set with a 15-11 loss.
 
Southeastern returned to the sand later in the afternoon with a dominant 4-1 edge over conference rival New Orleans. Logarbo/McKinney gained a 21-12, 21-15 victory over the Privateers' pair one on court four to fuel a spark for the Lady Lions. Hicks/Sauers also dominated with a 21-12, 21-14 set sweep, while newcomers Grabriela Hrubanova and Maggie Paiva secured their first win of the season at pair four. Nicholls transfer Aspen Steele and freshman Anne Brauckmiller posted a 21-14, 21-12 victory to help SLU end day one of the tournament on a solid note.
 
Friday's Results:
 

Match 1: Tulane 5, Southeastern 0
	SLU	Tulane	Winner	Score
1	Alexis Logarbo/Mia McKinney	Sara Hall/Molly Trodd	Tulane	21-19, 21-19
2	Ysabella Lockwood/Kennedi Steele	McKenzie Cutler/Emily Heintzleman	Tulane	21-13, 21-10
3	Gabriela Hrubanova/Maggie Paiva	Gigi Gallegos/Skylar Ensign	Tulane	21-10, 21-13
4	Makayla Hicks/Mia Sauers	Teona Treskounov/Alexandra Hennessey	Tulane	21-13, 16-21, 15-11
5	Zoe Duggan/Lauren Schlotzhauer	Lauren Mann/Tara Gaspar	Tulane	21-8, 21-12

 

 

Match 2: Southeastern 4, New Orleans 1
	SLU	UNO	Winner	Score
1	Alexis Logarbo/Mia McKinney	Nikelle Lander/Tristin Smith	SLU	21-12, 21-15
2	Ysabella Lockwood/Kennedi Steele	Ivana de Carvalho Peixe/Mona Salgado	UNO	21-16, 11-21, 17-15
3	Makayla Hicks/Mia Sauers	Renata Dykstra/Grace Hinchman	SLU	21-12, 21-14
4	Gabriela Hrubanova/Maggie Paiva	Dayla Ward/Ava Rixford	SLU	18-21, 21-17, 17-15
5	Aspen Steele/Anne Brauckmiller	Jaedyn Newman/Laelah Quezada	SLU	21-14, 21-12

SLU (1-1) will return to the sand for two matches Saturday at 11 a.m. against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, before facing UAB at 1:30 to close out the weekend.

 
DIGGIN' IT CLUB / S CLUB
Fans interested in becoming active supporters of the Southeastern volleyball program are encouraged to join the Diggin' It Club. Lion volleyball alums are encouraged to join the exclusive S Club, which is restricted to Southeastern athletic letter winners.
 
All membership fees and donations to both the Diggin' It Club and S Club (volleyball) are available for the exclusive use of the Southeastern volleyball program. Membership information is available by contacting the Lion Athletics Association at laa@southeastern.edu or (985) 549-5091 or visiting www.LionUp.com.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on Lady Lions Volleyball, follow @LionUpBeach or @JWhiteSLU on Twitter, @LionUpBeach on Instagram, like /SLUathletics on Facebook and subscribe to the SLUathletics YouTube channel.