South Carolina Wins a Pair of Duals on Day One of Weekend Tournament

BATON ROUGE, LA. – Gamecock beach volleyball (11-4, 5-3 CCSA) earned a pair of wins on the opening day of the LSU Beach Invitational, taking down Southern Miss and New Orleans by 4-1 scores before losing to No. 3 LSU in the nightcap. Katie and Jordan Smith finished the day with a perfect 3-0 record as a pair, with Jordan extending her program-record-setting individual win streak to 15 matches in a row.
 
In the opener against conference foe Southern Miss, the team made quick work with sweeps on flights two through five that clinched the team win. Morgyn Greer and Carly Schnieder provided the most emphatic result, delivering a 21-11, 21-6 win in the fives pairing. Behind a 21-11, 21-15 win with her sister Jordan, Katie Smith earned her 80th career dual match win. She is just the second member of the program to crack 80, the other being program win leader Macie Tendrich.

Smith’s classmate joined her in the 80-win club in the team’s second dual of the day, facing New Orleans. Schnieder moved her season record to 13-1 and earned her 80th career win after a forfeit from the Privateers in the fifth flight. The Gamecocks swept the two through four positions in short order to get their seventh win in a row.

In the third and final game of the day, the team came up against the preseason number-one-ranked Tigers on their home sand. LSU earned a 2-0 lead after wins at four and five, snapping Jess Vastine’s personal 14-game win streak with a three-set decision. The Gamecocks were able to get a point back with a sweep from the Smith sisters, but the  Tigers finished off the dual with sweeps at number one and three.
 
UP NEXT
The weekend sprint continues with two more duals on Sunday. The team starts with a 10:30 a.m. ET matchup with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, then closes out tournament with a 3 p.m. dual against Houston Baptist. 
 
RESULTS
#16 South Carolina 4, Southern Miss 1
1. Kylie Grandy/Abbey Wilson (USM) def. Skylar Allen/Alyssa Keller (SC) 22-20, 21-19
2. Katie Smith/Jordan Smith (SC) def. Breleigh Favre/Olivia Hepworth (USM) 21-11, 21-15
3. Madison Brabham/Abby Carroll (SC) def. Hallie Phelan/Haley Hop (USM) 21-14, 21-16
4. Jess Vastine/Hannah Mackenhausen (SC) def. Valeria S. Papakyria/Kai Norman (USM) 21-16, 21-10
5. Morgyn Greer/Carly Schnieder (SC) def. Kaylie Beck/Melanie Miller (USM) 21-11, 21-6
Ext. Sophie Manson/Avery Davis (SC) def. Faith Miller/Haley Rogers (USM) 21-8, 21-18
Order of finish: Doubles (4,5,2*,1,3)
*-Deciding Point
 
#16 South Carolina 4, New Orleans 1
1. Veronica Corcoran/Victoria Corcoran (UNO) def. Skylar Allen/Alyssa Keller (SC) 21-14, 14-21, 15-11
2. Katie Smith/Jordan Smith (SC) def. Ally Carr/Maxine Walsh (UNO) 21-14, 21-13
3. Madison Brabham/Abby Carroll (SC) def. Brianna Vega/Alexa Spartz (UNO) 21-13, 21-17
4. Jess Vastine/Hannah Mackenhausen (SC) def. Liz Gialanella/Madeline Drake (UNO) 21-14, 21-14
5. Morgyn Greer/Carly Schnieder (SC) won by forfeit
Order of finish: Doubles (5,4,3*,2,1)
 
#3 LSU 4, #16 South Carolina 1
1. Taryn Kloth/Kristen Nuss (LSU) def. Skylar Allen/Alyssa Keller (SC) 21-16, 21-7
2. Katie Smith/Jordan Smith (SC) def. Claire Coppola/Kelli Greene-Agnew (LSU) 21-17, 21-14
3. Ashlyn Rasnick-Pope/Toni Rodriguez (LSU) def. Madison Brabham/Abby Carroll (SC) 21-17, 21-19
4. Jess Lansman/Sydney Moore (LSU) def. Jess Vastine/Hannah Mackenhausen (SC) 20-22, 21-11, 15-8
5. Olivia Ordonez/Kahlee York (LSU) def. Morgyn Greer/Carly Schnieder (SC) 21-13, 21-18
Order of finish: Doubles (4,5,2,1*,3)