Make no mistake about it, there is only one reason Claire Coppola and Kristen Nuss of the LSU Beach Volleyball team are taking advantage of the extra year of eligibility given to them by the NCAA because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
They both want to win a National Championship.
“We had a meeting with the coaching staff as soon as we were told about getting an extra year of eligibility back and Kristen was the first to stand up and say she was coming back,” Coppola said. “I simply said, 'Me too.'
"We are coming back to win a National Championship. Team success is so much more important than personal and individual success.”
The number one pair on the top-ranked team in the country when their season was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Coppola and Nuss became only the third pair in the history of the sport to reach the prestigious 100-win mark. The duo has played every match together since the 2017 campaign.
“Kristen and I started here together and we have to end it together,” Coppola said.
In addition to her exploits on the sand, the 6-1, Arizona native is also set to leave LSU now with a bachelor’s and two master’s degrees thanks to the extra year of eligibility. Coppola is also putting her career plans on hold, giving up a job in orthopedic medical device sales in Southern California.
“Hopefully they will hold a spot for me,” she said. “That and a lot of time with my family. It will be another year away from them, but they will visit lots.”
A 5-6 firebug out of Mount Carmel Academy in New Orleans, Nuss said the chance to come back and put the purple and gold on for another season was an opportunity she was not passing up.
“Growing up I’ve been a huge LSU fan and my ultimate dream has been to bring a National Championship to my school,” she said. “To have another opportunity to do that, I simply had to take that opportunity. How last season ended, I mean us reaching that top-ranked mark, that was not enough. We were striving for a championship. That for sure is the reason we are coming back.”
Coppola and Nuss’ head coach Russell Brock, couldn’t be more excited to have his top pair back in the sand.
“I don’t have to guess why they came back,” he said. “I know winning a National Championship was important to both of them. The spoken, not unspoken driven force has been for not just them, but this entire team, has been to win a championship. That’s a realistic goal this past season and for sure will be one in 2021. That’s why everyone is coming back.”
Coppola and Nuss have the chance to not only win a championship, but go down as the best duo in the history of the sport.
“From day one our freshman season, we just clicked,” Coppola said. “For whatever reason our chemistry was amazing. To be on the sand and to know what to expect from the other person and I always trust her completely. We have the mentality that we hate to lose more than we love to win.”
Nuss echoed her partner’s sentiments.
“We couldn’t be more different people with different personalities,” Nuss said. “Claire is more of the traditional taller blocker and I’m the shorter defender. We balance each other out. Claire is the feisty one on the court and I’m more of the calm, not show much emotion person. It’s the perfect chemistry on the court. It just happened.”
