Top Reasons to Get Excited for Beach Volleyball in 2019

South Carolina beach volleyball looks to build on another highly successful season last spring which saw the Gamecocks reach the NCAA Championships while posting a program-record 24 wins. Head coach Moritz Moritz lost some key starters to graduation, but he has a lot to be excited about in 2019 as the season opens at the Florida State Tournament in Tallahassee February 23-24.

It’s Year 6, but it’s still new!

As the program rolls into its sixth season of competition, the Gamecocks will look to replace four starters from last year’s lineup including Macie Tendrich and Julia Mannisto, who ranked No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, in career wins at the South Carolina.  Moritz is enjoying the competition in practice to see who will rise up to fill the starting lineup.
 

Shannon  Williams

“We not only lost starters, but consistent stalwarts who were leaders as well,” Moritz said. “The newness of it all is exciting.  We have players such as (senior) Shannon Williams, who has been an impact player the last few years and some other returning graduate students, but I’m excited to see who goes where, and how does the story and the composition of this season unfold with the players that we have. We know we have good pieces, and we’re looking for that best composition with our top five or six pairs.

“We have people like (junior) Katie Smith, who has a high beach IQ and is a great athlete. We’ve counted on her to balance that with her partner, whomever that’s been. So now that we don’t have a Macie or a Julia, we have to rely on people like her more heavily to bring up their partners and elevate others through their experience. Developing the individual skills so they will complement each other is exciting as well.”

Moritz noted that graduating some of their top players in the lineup is forcing others to step up in different roles.

“You have someone like (sophomore) Jess Vastine, who transitioned from the indoor program, and to see where she was last year and now where she is this year and potentially impact the lineup and maybe play a bigger role, it’s fun,” Moritz said. “You also fall back on your ‘old reliables’ with (junior) Katie Smith, (junior) Carly Schnieder, and Shannon Williams. (Junior) Franky Harrison is another example of someone who has been good, but how do we continue to elevate them so they step up to more of a leadership role and more of an impact role in terms of being vocal, driving the culture and driving the intensity a little bit more than last year.” 

Heading into the 2018 season, there were only two Gamecocks in program history to register 50 career dual wins. Last year alone, Williams and Mannisto surpassed that mark, and there’s a chance a few more could reach that plateau this year, with Schnieder (45 wins), Smith (44) and Harrison (31) all in hot pursuit.

“Every team at the beginning of the year has the national championship as their goal.“
– Moritz  Moritz

Coming Back from Adversity

Injuries are part of the game, but three veterans on the roster are looking to bounce back from injuries last year. Junior Hannah Edelman suffered a broken jaw during a match last year, Franky Harrison had offseason shoulder surgery, and graduate student Lydia Dimke broke her foot in the first match of the season and missed almost the entire year, returning in time for the team’s postseason run.

 

Lydia  Dimke

“Those three should all be factors in the starting five (pairs) and fighting for playing time,” Moritz said. “They’re doing really well. Lydia is factoring into our top two pairs. Franky is somebody that is factoring into the top half of the lineup as well. It all depends on team needs. Hannah is certainly factoring into the lineup again. She and Franky were one of the most reliable pairs early on last year. To experience what they did and battle back through those experiences to where they are now is huge.

“I think all three have dedicated more effort to recovery, how they can get better and impact the lineup, and how they can make their partner better.

“You do rely on someone like Shannon Williams or Katie Smith, who have great beach volleyball backgrounds and great experience at a high level, so that when you pair them with someone like Lydia coming off an injury who has more indoor experience, that’s where you’re going to get more out of both of them. That’s what we’re looking for out of all of them.”

Not Easing Into The Season

The Gamecocks aren’t exactly tip-toeing into the 2019 season but will jump in with both feet as three of their first four opponents are ranked in the top 10 nationally. Moritz is excited to test his team early and hopes it will pay-off as they look to return to the postseason.

“Every team at the beginning of the year has the national championship as their goal, but we’re going into week one knowing that we’re playing three of the best teams in the country,” Moritz said. “In previous years, we were able to rely on a broader scope of experience. Seeing who will step up is something I’m excited about.

“The first week we’ve got No. 6 Cal Poly, No. 7 LSU, and No. 3 Florida State,” Moritz said. “In week two, we’ve got Florida Atlantic and then LSU and Florida State again. Over spring break, we’ll play Southern Cal, who’s No. 2 in the country. That’s who we need to be playing in order to be ready for our ultimate goal, but it’s really throwing ourselves to the fire.”

The Gamecocks are also excited for the LSU Beach Invitational in Baton Rouge as the Tigers look to show off their new facility.

“It will be a fun environment that’s on their campus as opposed to where they used to play,” Moritz said. “That’s somebody that we target every year, and they target us, as one of their benchmarks.”

Not Just Tournaments

In addition to weekend tournaments, home and away, the Gamecocks have several dual matches scheduled at home in mid-week evenings and weekend afternoons, which Moritz hopes will help grow the fan base and the program in the community.

“It’s an opportunity to come out after work or early in the afternoon and enjoy the environment that we have at Wheeler Beach,” Moritz said. “One of our major things every year is to highlight our facility because it’s one of the best in the country. It’s awesome. The midweeks are fun because fans can come from work, pick up their kids, come down and spend a couple hours under the lights and enjoy a volleyball game. We’re typically playing tournaments on the weekend, so this is fun.”

The dual matches are Tuesday, March 19 against Morehead State, Wednesday, March 27 against Coastal Carolina, and Sunday, March 31 against Arizona State.