Though Olivia Dunne is not part of Team USA, the beloved LSU gymnast is definitely at the ongoing Paris Olympics.
The social media influencer and partner of Pittsburgh Pirates star Paul Skenes shared a video from Saturday’s beach volleyball match: Team Canada’s Sophie Bukovec and Heather Bansley played against Team USA’s Taryn Kloth and Kristen Nuss.
Much to Dunne’s joy, her fellow LSU Tigers, Kloth and Nuss, emerged victorious with scores of 21-17, 21-14.
‘Geaux Tigers & Geaux US’ captioned LSU’s Instagram post featuring a photo of Dunne, Nuss, and Kloth making the school’s ‘L’ hand sign.
Dunne also shared her experience at the match on Instagram, with the stunning Eiffel Tower glinting in the background.
Unlike many Californians who grew up playing beach volleyball, Kloth and her teammate Kristen Nuss took a later path to the sand. After teaming up at LSU, they opted to remain in Louisiana, training in Nuss’s hometown of New Orleans.
Dunne pictured herself on Instagram, showing Paris’ glittering Eiffel Tower in the background
Former LSU Tigers Kristen Nuss (left), Olivia Dunne (center), and Taryn Kloth (right)
When the second-ranked team in the world debuted with a 21-17, 21-14 win over Canada at Eiffel Tower Stadium in Paris on Saturday night, it marked the first time an American beach volleyball duo was vying for Olympic gold without ties to California.
‘We really wanted to change the narrative with this,’ Nuss stated in a recent phone interview prior to their arrival in Paris. ‘Previously, people thought you had to move to California to succeed in this sport. We feel we’ve made significant strides in altering that perception.’
Beach volleyball was practically created in California, with its expansive sandy beaches and year-round favorable weather for athletes.
Kloth came from a background in indoor volleyball at Creighton in Omaha, Nebraska—a location far removed from a beach lifestyle—and came to LSU ready to learn. Her only experience with beach volleyball before was playing casually with friends at a lake in South Dakota.
Kloth, right, and Nuss, left, celebrate victory in the women’s pool B beach volleyball match
‘I wouldn’t even classify it as a beach,’ Kloth remarked. ‘It felt more like dirt. The surface was akin to concrete with just a dusting on top, and we played indoor volleyball outside.’
Kloth quickly adapted to the beach game; during her first full season at LSU in 2020, she achieved a perfect record of 27-0 with two partners. In her second year, she teamed up with Nuss for a striking 36-0 record that included victories over UCLA and top-ranked USC in doubleheaders.
By the time she graduated, Kloth also had developed a supportive community that made her want to stay.
‘I found myself in this entirely different culture,’ she recalled. ‘Everyone was very accepting and understanding, knowing that I was away from my family, unlike most others who probably had their families around.’
