Baton Rouge, LA. - The Beach Bears opened play at the Battle of the Bayou on Friday in Baton Rouge, finishing the day 1-1 against a competitive field hosted by LSU.

The day began with a matchup against host LSU Beach Volleyball, where the Beach Bears faced a tough SEC opponent. LSU earned a 5-0 team victory, but several courts featured tightly contested play. The No. 5 pair of Liliana Irizary and Anna Jaworski pushed a close opening set before falling 22-20, while the No. 3 duo of Ella Layzell and Brooke Sharp battled back to force a third set, ultimately dropping a hard-fought 15-9 decision.

The Beach Bears bounced back in the afternoon with a strong 4-1 victory over Spring Hill. The duo of Natalie Blum and Anna Linskey set the tone at the No. 1 position with a straight-set win, while Layzell and Sharp followed with another solid performance at No. 3. Allison Heck and Ella Weibert showed resilience at the No. 4 spot, rallying after dropping the first set to secure a three-set victory. Liliana Irizarry and Anna Jaworski added a decisive win at No. 5 to help seal the team result.

With the split, the Beach Bears demonstrated resilience and the ability to respond, turning a challenging start into a strong finish. The team will look to carry that momentum into Saturday as they continue tournament play against Texas A&M–Corpus Christi and New Orleans.