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Gamecocks Celebrate Milestone Victory on Final Day of Home Tournament
Beach Volleyball  . 

Gamecocks Celebrate Milestone Victory on Final Day of Home Tournament

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Gamecock beach volleyball celebrated a major program milestone in the final day of competition in the Carolina Challenge Sunday. South Carolina recorded its 200th win as a program in its 5-0 sweep of Eastern Kentucky (8-5) to begin the day, then ended the weekend at home with a 5-0 win over College of Charleston (4-9). The Gamecocks improve to 8-5 for the season after picking up three wins at home over the two-day tournament.

After weather delays pushed back the start of the day, all duals were played with all five pairs going at once. The Gamecocks embraced the amped-up pace and left little doubt on the way to clinch win No. 200 against EKU, dropping just one set across five courts. Julia Waugh and Riley Whitesides opened the scoring with a 21-15, 21-18 sweep on court one and Abigail Lagemann and Jordan Benoit clinched the team win soon after on court five with a 21-16, 21-18 victory and a 3-0 lead.

Closing out the weekend against the in-state rival Cougars, South Carolina upped its efforts and swept all five courts. Charleston only reached 18 points once across the 10 total sets played. Lauren Lawson and Kristen Schenck started the team off with a 21-14, 21-15 win on court five, Schenck’s first victory of the season, and VB Trost Evie Ziffer sealed the team win with their seventh win in a row together, a 21-19, 21-11 sweep on court four.

QUOTABLE: Head Coach Moritz Moritz
On the team’s milestone win
“I am grateful to be interwoven into the stories of the amazing people that have shaped this program for the last 12 years. To be able to celebrate with our team and our family of alumnae is incredible. It’s a story that spans over a decade-plus of people coming together over a shared passion for a sport, but more importantly for the feeling of being a team and the legacy we each get to be a part of.

We aspire to create even deeper roots and I can’t wait to see where we go from here. In the meantime, we owe it to the people who support us to continue growing and competing hard.

The victories belong to everyone that helped build this culture. There are so many people that play a role and it’s my hope that they know how integral they have been and continue to be for our success and more importantly how loved they are.”

NOTABLE

  • In 12 seasons, the program holds a record of 201-127 since its start in 2014. Head coach Moritz Moritz, the leader of the team since its inception, currently ranks 11th in the NCAA record books for career wins, but because the sport was not recognized as a NCAA sport until 2016, Moritz’s career record stands at 179-108.
  • The two 5-0 wins were the first sweeps of the season for South Carolina. The team played just one three-set match all day, after playing six over two duals on Saturday.
  • Senior Kristen Schenck picked up her first win of the spring thanks to a 21-14, 21-15 sweep of College of Charleston. She is the 13th member of the team to record a win so far this spring.
  • Junior VB Trost and sophomore Evie Ziffer finished off a 4-0 weekend together, improving their season record to 9-1. The pair are on a seven-game win streak.

UP NEXT
The team has an open weekend with no competition over the weekend of March 21-23. The next competition will be out west, with two days in Arizona. The Gamecocks face UTEP and Grand Canyon in Phoenix on March 28, then travel to Tempe and take on Washington and Arizona State on March 29.

For continued updates on the team, follow the Gamecocks on Twitter and Instagram.

RESULTS
South Carolina 5, EKU 0

  1. Riley Whitesides/Julia Waugh (SC) def. Paityn Walker/Gabriella Armitage (EKU) 21-15, 21-18
  2. Jolie Cranford/Morgan Downs (SC) def. Bella Williams/Rachel Mueller (EKU) 21-13, 21-16
  3. Sadie Nelson/Rachel Hartmann (SC) def. Reagan Sandlin/Riley Cutler (EKU) 18-21, 21-13, 15-11
  4. VB Trost/Evie Ziffer (SC) def. Madalyn Richardson/Natalie Taggart (EKU) 21-15, 21-13
  5. Abigail Lagemann/Jordan Benoit (SC) def. Tatum Meinerz/Elpida Pitsigkoni (EKU) 21-16, 21-18

Order of Finish: 1,4,5*,2,3
*- Deciding Point

South Carolina 5, College of Charleston 0

  1. Riley Whitesides/Julia Waugh (SC) def. Emily Banitt/Ella Duffner (CC) 21-15, 21-17
  2. Jolie Cranford/Morgan Downs (SC) def. Alivia Newberg/Elizabeth Curry (CC) 21-12, 21-12
  3. Sadie Nelson/Rachel Hartmann (SC) def. Kora Hansen/Alexa Psotka (CC) 21-16, 21-7
  4. VB Trost/Evie Ziffer (SC) def. Sophie Hays/Cassie Thayse (CC) 21-19, 21-11
  5. Kristen Schenck/Lauren Lawson (SC) def. Tynley Smeltzer/Allie Holland (CC) 21-14, 21-15

Order of Finish: 5,3,4*,2,1
*- Deciding Point

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