ATLANTA, Ga – LSU Beach Volleyball alumnae Taryn Kloth and Kristen Nuss won their first AVP Gold Series Championship on Sunday when they defeated Kelly Claes and Sarah Sponcil in a three-set thriller at the Atlanta Open. It was the first AVP Gold Series event they have competed in since turning pro.
Kloth and Nuss were one of four pairs who had to go through a qualification round in order to make it into the main draw. Once in the main draw, which featured sixteen total pairs, Kloth and Nuss rattled off five victories to win the championship. They became the first pair since 2013 to have competed in the qualification round that went on to win an AVP Gold Series event.
In the championship, Kloth and Nuss faced Claes and Sponcil who represented America at the Tokyo Olympics a few weeks ago. The former LSU duo got off to a strong start, dominating the first set, 21-12. Claes and Sponcil took the second set though, 21-19, to force a deciding set in the championship.
The third set was tightly contested, but ultimately Kloth and Nuss prevailed to earn the crown. With the score tied at 14, Kloth and Nuss earned back-to-back points to secure the championship. Nuss scored with a jumbo shot for the match’s final point.
The AVP Gold Series has three total events this summer. It will go to Manhattan Beach next weekend and will wrap up September 3-5 in Chicago.
(Press release provided by LSU Athletics.)