Former LSU beach volleyball stars Taryn Kloth, Kristen Nuss win opening match at Olympics

Former LSU beach volleyball stars Taryn Kloth and Kristen Nuss opened up play at the Olympics for Team USA with a convincing win over Canada in straight sets.

The pair rolled with a 21-17 win in the first set, then closed out an even more dominant 21-14 second set to advance.

The duo is the No. 2 seed in the Olympics, widely expected to contend for a gold medal. Even then there were some nerves today in front of the large crowd, just in front of the Eiffel Tower.

“I think our coach, Drew Hamilton, really reminded us that we are literally playing the exact same game that we do every day at practice,” Kloth said. “And yes it’s a much bigger crowd and there are way more people, but it really is pass, set, hit and do what we do every day.”

If nerves were a factor, the LSU duo of Kloth and Nuss did an excellent job hiding it.

They were on point from the start and played from in front virtually the whole match. It was a relatively stress-free move on to the next round.

Still, it was a daunting task for the two stars from Baton Rouge.

“How do you describe that? That was just absolutely insane,” Nuss said. “Far exceeded my expectations. To pack this place out, it’s huge. This is just surreal.”

Both, however, did an excellent job representing LSU and Team USA. They’ll look to continue through the field by displaying their country pride, with thousands more looking on and rooting for them from home.

In fact, one bar in Baton Rouge was packed watching their match on Saturday. Check it out below.

BATON ROUGE: Many have come out to cheer on the former LSU beach volleyball duo of Taryn Kloth and Kristen Nuss. Only thing is the power’s out so people have to watch on their phones. I’ll have the story of how the city and one local volleyball bar is celebrating @WBRZ pic.twitter.com/lvQ7bRvZpm

— Joe Collins (@Joe_Collins1223) July 27, 2024

For their part, Kloth and Nuss are thrilled to be representing their country and their college, LSU.

“The best three letters than you can ever put on,” Kloth said. “We are so honored, so grateful to have these on our jerseys, our hats, everything. It’s an unbelievable feeling.”

Added Nuss, of the experience going through the opening ceremony a day prior:

“We went, got to explore that. Such a crazy feeling. It definitely brought me to many, many tears, seeing all the American flags in the crowd and just that country pride is something special.”