April 15, 2016

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The South Carolina beach volleyball is slated to host their fourth tournament of the season this weekend with the Palmetto Invitational at Wheeler Beach on Saturday and Sunday.

The Gamecocks wrap up their regular season this weekend before heading to Emerson, Ga. for the CCSA Conference Tournament next weekend.

Teams included in the Palmetto Invitational are Coastal Carolina, LSU, UNC-Wilmington and Carson-Newman.

Admission is free to all of South Carolina’s beach volleyball events. The complex is located in the Athletics Village directly behind the right-field wall of Carolina Softball Stadium. Fans and media can park for free in the Athletics Village garage.

GAMECOCK SCHEDULE

SATURDAY
South Carolina vs. Coastal Carolina @ 11 a.m.
[Senior Day, free sunglasses to first 75 students, High School Day]

South Carolina vs. LSU @ 5 p.m.
[Free tanks to first 200 students, High School Day]

SUNDAY
South Carolina vs. UNC-Wilmington @ 11 a.m.
[Free car decals to first 50 fans, High School Day]

South Carolina vs. Carson-Newman @ 5 p.m.
[High School Day]

SOUTH CAROLINA AT A GLANCE

– The Gamecocks are in their third season under the direction of head coach Moritz Moritz after going 14-7 in the program’s second season in 2015.
– 11 players from last year’s roster are back.
– Carolina currently has a roster size of 20 players.
– Three of the players on this year’s roster — Sarah Blomgren, Aubrey Ezell, Emma Lock — are crossover players from the Carolina indoor program.
– South Carolina boasts a diverse roster as it has players from 11 different states, including Texas, Virginia, California, Florida, South Carolina, Maryland, Georgia, Michigan, Arizona, New Jersey and Missouri.

A LOOK BACK AT FIESTA ON SIESTA KEY

– The Gamecocks went 2-2 at the Fiesta on Siesta Key.
– South Carolina defeated North Florida (3-2) and Florida Atlantic (3-2) fell to Florida Gulf Coast (4-1) and Stetson (3-2).
– Macie Tendrich and Katie Reilly posted the best record on the team for the tournament going 4-0 overall. The pair is now 21-6 on the season.

COASTAL CAROLINA

– The Chanticleers are in their first season and are under the direction of Joszef Forman.
– CCU enters the weekend with a 2-6 mark overall.
– Coastal Carolina earned their first win in program history on March 24 when they defeated Jacksonville State 5-0.
– The Chanticleers split their last two matches, defeating Stevenson 5-0 but falling 3-2 to UNC-Wilmington.
– South Carolina leads the all-time series with Coastal Carolina 1-0.

LSU

– The Tigers are in their third season and are under the direction of Fran Flory.
– LSU enters the weekend with an 11-6 record overall and ranked No. 11 in the DiG poll.
– Louisiana State went 2-2 at the Green Wave Invitational. They defeated Houston Baptist (5-0) and Tulane (4-1) but fell to Arizona (3-2) and Georgia State (4-1).
– Helen Boyle and Lilly Kessler lead the Tigers with 11 wins at the No. 2 spot.
– LSU leads the all-time series with South Carolina 3-0.

UNC-WILMINGTON

– The Seahawks are in their first season and under the direction of Amy Bambenek.
– UNCW enters the weekend with an 8-13 record on the season.
– UNC-Wilmington went 1-3 at the Fiesta on Siesta Key tournament. They defeated Louisiana-Monroe (3-2) but fell to Florida Atlantic (3-2), Florida State (5-0) and TCU (4-1).
– Sunday will mark the first-ever meeting between the Seahawks and the Gamecocks.

CARSON-NEWMAN

– The Eagles are in their second season and are under the direction of Dave Franklin.
– CNU enters the weekend with a 7-8 record overall.
– After going 0-4 in the Gamecock Invitational, Carson-Newman rebounded with a pair of wins (5-0 and 4-1) over Lincoln Memorial.
– South Carolina leads the all-time series with CNU 2-0.