Gamecocks Earn 100th Win, Split Saturday Duals
The team defeated Texas A&M-Kingsville but lost to host LSU
BATON ROUGE, LA. – South Carolina beach volleyball opened competition at the LSU Beach Invitational Saturday, defeating Texas A&M-Kingsville but dropping a heartbreaker to the fourth-ranked Tigers in the nightcap. The team is now 14-7 overall for the season, and the win over Kingsville was the 100thwin in the program’s history.
Opening against the Javelinas, it was tight opening round of duals but the Gamecocks came away with the 2-0 lead after a 21-11, 21-13 win from Hannah Edelman and Lauryn Gillis at the fours and Jess Vastine and Whitley Ballard were able to win in three sets at number five. Shannon Williams and Cadie Bates clinched the team win with a quick sweep at the number one spot, a fitting win for the two seniors as it moved the program to 100 wins over its five-plus seasons. Williams’ win was the 73rdof her career, moving her closer to becoming just the second individual ever to reach 75 career wins.
In the evening session against LSU, South Carolina found itself embroiled in another heated battle with their conference foes. After the first two meetings this season were split one win apiece with both duals ending with 3-2 margins, it appeared to be heading for another tight finish after the opening wave featured three-set matches going to the Gamecocks at the fours and the Tigers at the fives. LSU pushed ahead with a sweep on court one, but the twos and threes went to a third set with Carolina still with a chance to pull it out. The Tigers would win both of those as well for the final 4-1 score. The Gamecocks won the first set on four of the five courts Saturday night, but were only able to pull out one win from those four.
The tournament wraps up on Sunday with duals against No. 20 TCU and Houston Baptist. For updates, follow GamecockBeachVB on Twitter.
RESULTS
#11 South Carolina 5, Texas A&M-Kingsville 0
1. Cadie Bates/Shannon Williams (SC) def. Tenley Housler/Whitney Walker (TAMUK) 21-16, 21-15
2. Lydia Dimke/Katie Smith (SC) def. Madison Brabham/Kylexus Block (TAMUK) 21-13, 21-17
3. Franky Harrison/Carly Schnieder (SC) def. Haley Hutchinson/Macy Berg (TAMUK) 26-24, 22-20
4. Lauryn Gillis/Hannah Edelman (SC) def. Shelby Tate/Melanie Casteel (TAMUK) 21-11, 21-13
5. Jess Vastine/Whitley Ballard (SC) def. Christina Gragasin/Nicole Murff (TAMUK) 21-15, 19-21, 15-11
Ext. Jordan Smith/Caroline Skaff (SC) def. Maelee Sowa/Kadi Shipman (TAMUK) 21-13, 21-16
Order of finish: 4,5,1*,2,3
#4 LSU 4, #11 South Carolina 1
1. Claire Coppola/Kristen Nuss (LSU) def. Cadie Bates/Shannon Williams (SC) 21-12, 21-16
2. Kahlee York/Kelli Agnew (LSU) def. Lydia Dimke/Katie Smith (SC) 19-21, 21-18, 15-12
3. Toni Rodriguez/Ashlyn Rasnick-Pope (LSU) def. Franky Harrison/Carly Schnieder (SC) 22-24, 21-4, 15-5
4. Lauryn Gillis/Hannah Edelman (SC) def. Olivia Beyer/Maddie Ligon (LSU) 21-19, 17-21, 15-12
5. Allison Coens/Hunter Domanski (LSU) def. Jess Vastine/Whitley Ballard (SC) 13-21, 21-16, 15-10
Ext. Melia Lindner/Katie Kampen (LSU) def. Jordan Smith/Caroline Skaff (SC) 21-14, 21-13
Order of finish: 5,4,1,3*,2
