Beach volleyball the Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) was founded. At the professional level, the sport remained fairly obscure until the 1980s when beach volleyball experienced a surge in popularity with high-profile players such as Sinjin Smith, Randy Stoklos, and Karch Kiraly. Kiraly won an Olympic gold medal in beach volleyball in its first Olympic appearance in 1996, adding that to the two Olympic golds he won as part of the USA men's indoor team, and has won 142 titles. In the 1980s, the sport gained popularity on the beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In 1986, the
LSU Tigers women's beach volleyball LSU Tigers women's beach volleyball The LSU Tigers women's beach volleyball team represents Louisiana State University in the sport of beach volleyball. The Tigers compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) and the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (CCSA), and play their home matches at the new on-campus LSU Beach Volleyball Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. They are currently led by head coach Russell Brock. The LSU Tigers beach volleyball team, originally known as the "LSU Tigers sand volleyball team", played its first season in 2014. The first coach of the Tigers was Fran Flory (2014–2016) who