GULF SHORES - The No. 6 LSU beach volleyball team lost earlier in the day to No. 3 UCLA. The Tigers needed to win in the elimination match against No. 2 TCU.

The Tigers dropped opening sets on four courts, but pairs on Courts 2, 3 and 5 prevailed to defeat No. 2 TCU, 3-2, and to keep LSU’s championship hopes alive.

“We don’t need the adrenaline to wear off because we are going to need some tomorrow,” said head coach Russell Brock. “I don’t know that we know who we play yet, but the whole day is just about taking it one point at a time. So we’ll figure out who the next one is and get ready and figure out how to have energy. If we play like we just played, we can beat anybody in the country.”

For the second year in a row, LSU knocked TCU out of the NCAA Championship. The Tigers will be back in action Saturday at 2 p.m. CT in another elimination match on ESPN2 against the loser of USC and FSU who will meet Saturday morning.