Claire Coppola leaves legacy at LSU
BATON ROUGE, La. (BVM) — Back in 2014, now head beach volleyball coach Russell Brock landed at LSU. In three seasons, Brock would take over as head coach and would bring in some of the best college beach volleyball players the sport has ever seen. Claire Coppola is one of those players.
“He [Russel Brock] recruited me and truly cared about me as a person and not [just] a volleyball player,” Coppola stated. “He wanted to know about my family, how my day was.”
Before coming to LSU, Coppola played beach volleyball at Xavier College Prep in Phoenix, Ariz. For two seasons, Coppola played for the Gators. She won back-to-back Arizona beach state championships in her first two prep seasons. In addition, Coppola was named to the American Volleyball Coach Association High School All-America team as a senior to cap off her high school career.
All this success led her to be a highly-recruited volleyball talent that led her to choose LSU.
“The culture of LSU beach volleyball felt like a family,” Coppola said. “If I was going to go halfway across the country to go to college, I wanted to go into a family. And that’s really what LSU beach volleyball is. It’s girls that care about you and value you and a coaching staff that will do anything that can to help you succeed.”
As a freshman, Coppola played a significant part in the Tigers’ success. Paired with Kristen Nuss, they won nine matches over ranked teams. Seven of those wins came over top-10 teams. The pair finished with an overall record of 27-7.
“I was definitely nervous [to compete at the college level},” Coppola said. “We had a bunch of stud seniors on the team. I was nervous, but I was determined. That’s one of my greatest skills. When I’m nervous, I can channel that into hard work and relentlessness. I took that [nervousness] and went all in.”
Following her successful freshman campaign, Coppola was set for another promising season. Coppola and Nuss were named to the preseason Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (CCSA) All-Conference team. Coppola and Nuss were also the first LSU pair to win America Volleyball Coach Association (AVCA) Pair of the Week. They went 4-0, including a straight-set victory over No. 1 Pepperdine that week at the Gamecock Grandslam.
The pair also earned a spot in the Federation Internationale du Sport Universitaire (FISU) World University Championship in Munich, Germany. They finished fifth overall out of 32 international pairs representing the United States.
“It was absolutely insane [competing overseas],” Coppola said. “We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. It was a huge learning experience for us. We learned the value of scouting and watching other people’s films. [It was really] my first time playing for a huge crowd, with announcers, but it was really fun though. We learned a lot and were able to use [what we learned] as we went into our next couple of seasons at LSU.”
Those next two seasons would be some of the best volleyball Coppola and the LSU Beach Volleyball program would have since its inaugural season in 2014.
In Coppola’s junior year of 2019, Nuss and she set the program record for wins in a season. They went 33-4 and became the first pair ever to win CCSA Pair of the Year in consecutive years.
Following a dominant junior year, it looked like Coppola’s career was over with the COVID-19 pandemic halting most activity across the country. But luckily, she was able to come back for one more memorable year.
During the 2020 season, the LSU beach volleyball program would reach their first-ever No. 1 ranking as a program after handing then No. 1-ranked UCLA back-to-back losses. Following a split in Honolulu, LSU traveled back to take on UCLA. It was No. 1 vs. No. 2. On what was a historic day for the program, 2,407 fans showed up to watch the match.
“We had played them the weekend before twice in Hawaii and we had split with them,” Coppola said. “It was the most surreal moment of my life.”
Another highlight of the 2020 season was when Coppola squared off against Hailey Harward, her partner when they won the first Arizona High School State Beach Championship.
“It was very fun,” Coppola said. “We’re both super competitive, so I was [a bit] nervous that we would come out of it [the match] not friends. But it went really well. She’s so humble and great. She works super hard, and it honestly strengthened our relationship because we respect each other a lot.”
Over five years, Coppola has been one of the cornerstones for the Tigers beach volleyball program. But she didn’t do it by herself.
“Our senior class that we had this year, we all [played an important role] in helping build the program,” Coppola said. “Whether it was the girls who have been there five years with me or [the transfer students], I think we all brought something that helped build this program. It was a really special senior class.”
Along with her teammates, Coppola has always looked up to her dad. He played baseball for the Minnesota Twins and has done multiple marathons.
“He really instilled that hard work and dedication into me and my siblings,” Coppola said.
With this season coming to an end, Coppola’s college career is now over. Her and Nuss are the third pair ever to win 100-plus games.
An All-American and a cornerstone piece of our program. @clairecoppola1's 121 career victories are the fourth most in college beach volleyball history.
Thank you, Claire 💜💛 pic.twitter.com/xX5XKvDt0A
— LSU Beach Volleyball (@LSUBeachVB) May 11, 2021
“It’s so cool,” Coppola said. “I feel so honored. It’s been an incredible five years. It’s a testament to my teammates, my coaches, and the partners I’ve played with.”
Coppola is now moving to southern California, where she’ll take care of medical device sales for sports surgeries. Coppola has done a lot for LSU and the sport of volleyball. She’ll be remembered forever as one of the best players to wear purple and gold.
I love this school!!!! Honored to have gotten to wear purple and gold💛💜 https://t.co/3i8NFllhdR
— Claire Coppola (@clairecoppola1) May 11, 2021
