April 21, 2014

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina sand volleyball team is set to host College of Charleston on Tuesday in the final dual of its inaugural season.

First serve is set for 5 p.m. at the Carolina Sand Volleyball Complex. Admission is free to all of South Carolina’s sand 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, and a shuttle will be available for those who need it. South Carolina Athletics’ prohibited items list will remain the same on Tuesday with the exception of folding chairs, seatbacks and strollers.

Tuesday: vs. College of Charleston, 5 p.m.
On Twitter: @GamecockSandVB
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Notes

South Carolina Overview
• The Gamecocks are in their inaugural season under the direction of head coach Moritz Moritz, who served as an assistant on the Carolina indoor staff the previous two seasons.
• South Carolina was the first SEC school to add the sport and 31st overall.
• The Gamecocks currently have a roster size of 18 players. Three of those individuals – Paige Wheeler, Litsa Darby and Megan Kent – played indoor volleyball for Carolina in 2012 before making the transition to sand only players this year.
• Twelve of the 18 players are sand only players, while six – Mikaela Christiaansen, Erin Neuenfeldt, Sarah Blomgren, Jordan Wilson-Talmadge, Helen Récaborde and KoKo Atoa-Williams – are crossover players from the indoor program.
• South Carolina boasts a diverse roster as it has players from 12 different states, including Virginia, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Nevada, California, Florida, Arizona, South Carolina, Georgia, Michigan, Maryland and New Jersey.

The End is Here
• South Carolina is set to wrap up its inaugural season on Tuesday against College of Charleston at 5 p.m. at the Carolina Sand Volleyball Complex.
• The dual will be divided into three segments. Exhibition pairs and the No. 5 pairs play first, followed by the No. 3 and 4 pairs and then the No. 1 and 2 pairs.
• Fans will have a chance to win different prizes by spinning the Wheel of Prizes.

No Ceremony Needed
• The Gamecocks will not be celebrating senior day on Tuesday with the entire roster expected to be back for 2015.

Projecting the Lineup
• No. 1: Paige Wheeler/Megan Kent – The duo is 5-18 overall this season, including a 2-12 record at No. 1. The pair is 0-1 against the Cougars.
• No. 2: Mikaela Christiaansen/Sarah Blomgren – Have put together a 10-11 overall record, including a 6-6 mark at No. 2. The pair is 1-0 versus the Cougars.
• No. 3: Jordan Loney/Jade Vitt – Head into the weekend with a 5-10 record and a 5-9 mark at No. 3. Lost the match against College of Charleston on April 5.
• No. 4: Litsa Darby/Chynna Ratner – Currently 1-9 overall. Pair fell in its match with the Cougars on April 5.
• No. 5: KoKo Atoa-Williams/Erin Neuenfeldt – Enter this weekend at 4-8 overall and 4-5 at No. 5. Defeated College of Charleston in a match on April 5.

Last Time Out
• The Gamecocks went 13-23 in the Florida State Pairs Challenge over the weekend.
• South Carolina experimented with new pairs, as five of its six teams were new.
• After winning only three matches on Friday, South Carolina gained momentum with wins in 10 of its 18 matches on Sunday.
• The Gamecocks’ No. 3 pair of Mikaela Christiaansen and Jade Vitt went 3-0 on Saturday to win the Bronze Pool. Christiaansen and Vitt went 4-2 on the weekend.
• Carolina’s No. 4 pair of Litsa Darby and Erin Neuenfeldt went 3-0 on Sunday to win Pool A. The tandem finished the weekend with a 3-3 record.
• The No. 5 pair of KoKo Atoa-Williams and Chynna Ratner also went 3-3 on the weekend.

Scouting College of Charleston
• College of Charleston is in its third season of sand volleyball and has a 6-4 dual record heading into Tuesday, including a win over the Gamecocks on April 5.
• The Cougars went 6-4 last season and 4-4 in 2012. College of Charleston made the AVCA National Championships field in 2012 and finished fourth.
• College of Charleston has lost to Mercer, Florida State and Georgia State (twice) this season. The three teams have a combined record of 38-18.
• The pair of Emily Neideffer and Darcy Dorton has played as the Cougars’ No. 1 pair in ever dual but one this season. The duo is 1-9 in dual play.
• Dorton paced College of Charleston’s indoor volleyball team this season and was named CAA Player of the Year, averaging 3.6 kills and 2.46 digs per set.

Last Time vs. College of Charleston – April 5, 2014
• The Gamecocks dropped a 3-2 decision to the Cougars at the College of Charleston Sand Classic in Mount Pleasant, S.C.
• Three out of the five matches went to three sets, and only one third set was decided by more than two points.
• South Carolina’s No. 2 pair of Mikaela Christiaansen and Sarah Blomgren defeated the Cougars’ Melissa Morello and Cara Howley in three sets by the scores of 21-18, 16-21 and 17-15.
• The Gamecocks’ No. 5 tandem of KoKo Atoa-Williams and Erin Neuenfeldt topped Kallie McKown and Maddie Hills by the scores of 21-16, 16-21 and 15-13.

A Bunch of Firsts
• The Gamecocks’ played their first-ever dual on March 8 against North Florida in St. Augustine, Fla.
• The No. 4 pair of KoKo Atoa-Williams and Litsa Darby was the first pair to take the court for South Carolina against North Florida (3/8).
• Atoa-Williams and Darby scored the first point and won the first set in school history, defeating North Florida’s Tanner Garbut and Cameron McGuire in the second set, 21-18 (3/8).
• South Carolina’s No. 2 pair of Sarah Blomgren and Mikaela Christiaansen became the first pair to win a match in school history, defeating North Florida’s Anna Budinska and Carie Whitmire in two sets, 21-19 and 21-18 (3/8).
• The Gamecocks recorded the program’s first win with a 3-2 victory over Jacksonville (3/8).
• In its first home match in school history, South Carolina defeated Oregon 4-1 (3/21).
• Litsa Darby and Morgan LaVigne secured the first dual point for the Gamecocks at the Carolina Sand Volleyball Complex with a win at No. 5 against Oregon, 21-16 and 21-10 (3/21).
• The first announced home attendance in program history was 1,102 for the Gamecocks’ match against Oregon (3/21).
• The Gamecocks played in their first pairs tournament on March 30 in Tallahassee, Fla.
• The pair of Paige Wheeler and Megan Kent defeated teammates Mikaela Christiaansen and Sarah Blomgren 2-1 for the first win in a pairs tournament (3/30).

Fastest Emerging Sport in NCAA History
• Sand volleyball is the fastest growing NCAA sport ever.
• The sport had just 16 teams in its inaugural season in 2012. A total number of 41 Division I schools have decided to add the sport since then.
• Now that the number of schools is over 40, the NCAA will sponsor an NCAA Championships when those programs have sponsored the sport for two years.

There’s a Difference?
• Although sand volleyball and indoor volleyball have plenty of similarities, they also have several differences, including a court size of 16m x 8m compared to 18m x 9m.
• Each team event is called a dual and consists of five pairs for each team.
• A winner is determined when a team wins three of the five pairs matches. Each pairs match is a best-of-three format. The first two sets are rally scoring to 21 points with the third set to 15 if necessary.
• There is no open-hand tipping in sand volleyball.
• The block touch does count as the first of three allowable touches in sand volleyball.
• With the weather elements, pairs swap courts every seven points in a 21-point set and every five points in a 15-point set.
• Sand coaches are only allowed to give instructions to players during timeouts and between sets.