Southeastern’s season came to a close on Saturday in Houston at the Southland Conference Beach Volleyball Championship Tournament.

The sixth-seeded Lady Lions (13-19, 4-4 SLC) lost their first-round matchup against third-seeded Houston Christian 3-0 on Friday afternoon. 

SLU bounced back Saturday morning by sending home seventh-seeded McNeese 3-2 in a back-and-forth affair. 

Andrea Da Silva and Rachel Hartmann kicked things off in the elimination game by defeating McNeese’s Gracey Janes and Carissa Chainey 21-16, 17-21, 15-7 in the first set. 

Alexis Logarbo and Mia McKinney fell to Cowgirls’ duo Rylee Lansing and Kendall Osgood in a tightly contested second set, 21-19, 23-21. 

Ysabella Lockwood and Maddie Shepston responded by topping former Lady Lion Jolie Savoie and her teammate Isabella Ceja, 21-16, 21-11 in the third frame. 

Makayla Hicks and Erin Engel were unable to close things out in the fourth set, losing 21-19, 14-21, 16-14 to another former SLU player, Harlee Tupper, and her partner Ella Swansiger. 

The fifth and final set would decide who would stay and who would return to “The Boot” 0-2. 

Southeastern’s Emmaleigh Vincent and Mia Sauers were not for the dramatics, as they took care of business 21-14, 21-14 over Nadia Manitzas and Kaylene Gohmann to send the Lady Lions through to the second round. 

The Green and Gold returned to the sand to take on fourth-seeded San Jose State in another elimination match. 

SLU seemed gassed from its earlier 3-2 thriller versus McNeese and ran out of steam against the Spartans, losing 3-0. 

While the loss means the end of the 2024 campaign for the Lady Lions, Coach Jeremy White and co. can hold their heads high knowing they completed the most successful beach volleyball season in school history. 

Southeastern implemented its beach volleyball program in 2020 and is just five years into this new endeavor. 

Starting a new sport at a university is never easy and Coach White manages the team on top of accomplishing back-to-back SLC titles as head man of the indoor volleyball squad. 

SLU’s mark of 13-19 (4-4 SLC) represents the most victories both overall and in conference play in a single season in program history. 

The Lady Lions also successfully hosted their first-ever Southeastern Invitational tournament at the Southeastern Beach Volleyball Complex from March 8-9, another milestone for this evolving SLU sport. 

The Green and Gold went a perfect 3-0 in the tourney, defeating Central Arkansas 4-1, Texas A&M-Kingsville 3-2 and Spring Hill 5-0. 

For all things Southeastern beach volleyball, stay tuned to The Lion’s Roar and thanks for your support this season, Lion fans!