Gamecocks Drop 3-2 Decision to ULM
March 23, 2014
COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina sand volleyball team lost its final dual of the Gamecock Invitational on Sunday, falling to ULM 3-2 at the Carolina Sand Volleyball Complex.
The Gamecocks (4-6) wrapped up the weekend with a 2-2 record, which included wins over UAB and Oregon.
“I’m happy with what we’ve been able to build and draw and how we were able to connect with the fans,” South Carolina head coach Moritz Moritz said of the Carolina Sand Volleyball Complex. “I think that’s been huge for us. From a performance standpoint, I think all of our players would agree that we probably could have won a little bit more, but even with that we’ve been really good at working each day to continue to get better. That’s been our emphasis. Regardless of our result, improvement has been what we are really focusing on.”
The Gamecocks and Warhawks (2-7) were tied at 2-2 at the end of the matches on courts one, three, four and five, and the dual came down to the third set on court two. South Carolina’s No. 2 pair of Paige Wheeler and Sarah Blomgren rallied to pull to within 13-12 in the final set, but ULM’s Michelle McNamee and Hadley Swartz scored the next two points to win the dual for the Warhawks.
South Carolina picked up its points for the dual on courts three and five. The Gamecocks’ No. 3 pair of Jordan Loney and Jade Vitt cruised to a two-set win over Blanca Ocana and Hope Pawlik by the scores of 21-13 and 21-15. KoKo Atoa-Williams and Erin Neuenfeldt won the second point for the Gamecocks in the No. 5 pairs match, defeating ULM’s Kayla Kane and Celine Flores, 21-14 and 21-19.
On court No. 1, Mikaela Christiaansen and Sarah Blomgren fell to the Warhawks’ Zuzana Markova and Marcela Araya in straight sets, 21-17 and 21-17. South Carolina’s No. 4 pair of Chynna Ratner and Litsa Darby battled back and forth with ULM’s Alannah Cullum and Rachel Amason but came up short as they lost 21-19 and 22-20.
The Gamecocks will be back in action next weekend at Florida State. South Carolina will face Florida State (10 a.m.), Jacksonville (1 p.m.) and LSU (4 p.m.) on Saturday and will play in bracket play on Sunday in Tallahassee, Fla.
ULM 3, South Carolina 2
No. 1 Zuzana Markova/Marcela Araya (ULM) def. Mikaela Christiaansen/Sarah Blomgren (SC) 21-17, 21-17
No. 2 Michelle McNamee/Hadley Swartz (ULM) def. Paige Wheeler/Megan Kent (SC) 15-
21, 21-14, 15-12
No. 3 Jordan Loney/Jade Vitt (SC) def. Blanca Ocana/Hope Pawlik (ULM) 21-13, 21-15
No. 4 Alannah Cullum/Rachel Arnason (ULM) def. Chynna Ratner/Litsa Darby (SC) 21-19, 22-20
No. 5 Erin Neuenfeldt/KoKo Atoa-Williams (SC) def. Kayla Kane/Celine Flores (ULM) 21-14, 21-19
