A Pair of Sweeps Close Out First Home Weekend for Beach Volleyball
The Gamecocks defeated Jacksonville and Coastal Carolina to move to 9-3 this spring
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Gamecock beach volleyball (9-3, 4-2 CCSA) completed a perfect weekend in the first home tournament of the spring, closing the Carolina Challenge tournament with two wins. South Carolina did not drop a single set on Sunday, downing Jacksonville and Coastal Carolina by 5-0 margins.
The team made quick work of the Dolphins in the Sunday opener, taking just over 30 minutes to wrap up a 5-0 win. The lineup had one tweak, with Skylar Allen moving up to pair with Alyssa Keller at the first position and Katie Smith moving down to play with her sister Jordan for the first time as Gamecocks. Appropriately, the sisters provided the clinching point with a 21-14, 21-14 sweep. South Carolina did not allow Jacksonville to score more than 16 points in any single set Sunday morning.
That same lineup kept rolling in the nightcap against the Chanticleers. Madison Brabham and Abby Carroll started the scoring with a 21-10, 21-18 win at number three, followed in quick succession by the Smith sisters and Vastine and Mackenhausen to clinch the team win. Keller and Allen went 21-17, 21-17 at the top pairing, and Morgyn Greer and Carly Schnieder capped the weekend of action with a 21-5, 22-20 win on court five.
UP NEXT
The Gamecocks are back on the road next weekend, traveling down to the Bayou for the LSU Beach Invitational. The tournament runs Saturday to Sunday and will feature five total duals. Highlighting the weekend will be a showdown with preseason No. 1-ranked LSU, but South Carolina will also face a rematch with Southern Miss and duals against New Orleans, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Houston Baptist.
RESULTS
#16 South Carolina 5, Jacksonville 0
1. Skylar Allen/Alyssa Keller (SC) def. Morgan Dees/Shaylee Befus (JU) 21-13, 21-16
2. Katie Smith/Jordan Smith (SC) def. Rina Mitchell/Olivia Szyszkiewicz (JU) 21-14, 21-14
3. Madison Brabham/Abby Carroll (SC) def. Giao Huynh/Kathryn Wristen (JU) 21-6, 21-9
4. Jess Vastine/Hannah Mackenhausen (SC) def. Kari DeYoung/Kaitlyn Sereda (JU) 21-8, 21-8
5. Morgyn Greer/Carly Schnieder (SC) def. No player/No player (JU), by forfeit
Order of finish: Doubles (5,4,2*,3,1)
*-Deciding Point
#16 South Carolina 5, Coastal Carolina 0
1. Alyssa Keller/Skylar Allen (SC) def. Drobnjak, Irena/Svobodova, Sarlota (CCU) 21-17, 21-17
2. Katie Smith/Jordan Smith (SC) def. Kragholm, Martine/Campbell, Lucy (CCU) 21-9, 21-18
3. Madison Brabham/Abby Carroll (SC) def. Riedell, Sarah/Hanford, Ellie (CCU) 21-10, 21-8
4. Jess Vastine/Hannah Mackenhausen (SC) def. Ginther, Carli/Gonzalez, Emma (CCU) 21-10, 21-9
5. Morgyn Greer/Carly Schnieder (SC) def. Eske, Kalin/Lukacs, Kendra (CCU) 21-5, 22-20
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,4*,5,1)
