March 19, 2015

COLUMBIA, S.C. — After spending last week on the road, the South Carolina sand volleyball team is set to host the Gamecock Invitational this weekend at the Carolina Sand Volleyball Complex.

The Gamecocks welcome six teams to Columbia, as Arizona State, Carson-Newman, No. 4 Florida State, Georgia State, Tulane and UAB will take part in the event. Carolina is slated face Carson-Newman (3 p.m.) and Arizona State (7 p.m.) on Friday, Tulane (11:30 a.m.) and Florida State (7 p.m.) on Saturday and UAB (3 p.m.) on Sunday. The Gamecocks’ duals with Arizona State, Florida State and UAB will be streamed live on the SEC Network+ digital platform.

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.

GAMECOCK INVITATIONAL INFORMATION
Schedule: Tournament Central
Friday: vs. Carson-Newman, 3 p.m. | vs. Arizona State, 7 p.m. (SEC Network+)
Saturday: vs. Tulane, 11:30 a.m. | vs. Florida State, 7 p.m. (SEC Network+)
Sunday: vs. UAB, 3 p.m. (SEC Network+)
On Twitter: @GamecockSandVB
Notes:Gamecock Invitational

South Carolina at a Glance
• The Gamecocks are in their second season under the direction of head coach Moritz Moritz after going 5-12 in the program’s inaugural season in 2014.
• All 18 players from last year’s roster are back.
• Carolina currently has a roster size of 25 players. Four players – Paige Wheeler, Litsa Darby, Megan Kent and Maddie Frome – played indoor volleyball for the Gamecocks in 2012 before making the transition to sand only players.
• Five of the players on this year’s roster – Sarah Blomgren, Jordan Wilson-Talmadge, KoKo Atoa-Williams, Allie Monserez and Abby Feruck – are crossover players from the Carolina indoor program.
• South Carolina boasts a diverse roster as it has players from 12 different states, including Virginia, Iowa, Florida, California, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Georgia, Michigan, Maryland, New Jersey, Nevada and Missouri.

A Look Back at the UNF Sand Invitational
• The Gamecocks went 3-1 during the two-day event held at the St. Augustine Beach Pier.
• Carolina recorded wins over College of Charleston (4-1), Florida Atlantic (5-0) and Jacksonville (3-2) and lost to host North Florida (3-2).
• After opening the North Florida dual with wins at No. 4 and No. 5, the Gamecocks lost the next three matches at No. 1, 2 and 3. The No. 1 and 2 matches went to three sets.
• The 5-0 win over Florida Atlantic was the second sweep in program history. Carolina defeated New Orleans 5-0 earlier this season for the first sweep.
• With the win over College of Charleston, the Gamecocks now own a 2-1 all-time record against the only other in-state school to sponsor sand volleyball.
• The win over Jacksonville gave Carolina its second three-dual winning streak this season. The Gamecocks opened the year with four-straight dual wins.

Projecting the Lineup
• No. 1: Maddie Frome/Julia Mannisto – 5-6 overall, including a 4-5 record in dual play…Went 1-3 over the weekend at the UNF Sand Invitational.
• No. 2: Paige Wheeler/Megan Kent – Team best 10-3 overall record, including a 7-2 mark in dual play…Posted a 3-1 record at the UNF Sand Invitational.
• No. 3: Sarah Blomgren/Jade Vitt – Enter the weekend with a 6-4 overall record, including a 6-3 mark in dual play…Went 2-2 at the UNF Sand Invitational.
• No. 4: Jade Hayes/Macie Tendrich – 9-3 on the year, including a 7-2 record in dual play…Went 4-0 at the UNF Sand Invitational.
• No. 5: KoKo Atoa-Williams/Allie Monserez – 7-4 overall, with a 6-3 mark in dual play…Posted a 4-0 record at the UNF Sand Invitational.
• No. 6: Erin Neuenfeldt/Litsa Darby – Won all four exhibition matches this season.

Carolina in Home Duals
• The Gamecocks are 5-2 all-time at the Carolina Sand Volleyball Complex, including a 2-0 record this season.
• Carolina has won its last three home duals dating back to last season.
• In the first dual in Carolina Sand Volleyball Complex history, the Gamecocks defeated Oregon 4-1 in front of 1,102 fans on March 21, 2014.

Starting Strong
• In the format of play at the UNF Sand Invitational, the No. 4 and 5 pairs played first in every dual, and Carolina’s pairs at those positions went 8-0 on the weekend to give the Gamecocks a 2-0 lead in every dual.
• Jade Hayes and Macie Tendrich won three matches playing at No. 4 and one playing at No. 5. The pair only lost one set all weekend.
• KoKo Atoa-Williams and Allie Monserez collected three wins at No. 5 and one win at No. 4 and lost just one set during the event.

Taking the Lead
• Carolina’s senior tandem of Paige Wheeler and Megan Kent has posted the team’s best record with a 10-3 overall mark this season while playing at No. 2, including a 7-2 record in dual play.
• Wheeler and Kent have lost just eight of 31 sets this season in 13 matches.
• The duo has lost the third set three times this season by a combined 10 points.
• Wheeler and Kent finished runner-up in the Gold bracket of the Carolina Classic pairs tournament, finishing the weekend with a 3-1 record.

Competition Getting Tougher
• During the next two weeks, the Gamecocks will square off against three of the six teams from last year’s AVCA Sand Volleyball National Championship in Florida State, Pepperdine and Florida International.
• Fourth-ranked Florida State comes to town this weekend. The Seminoles finished runner-up at the 2014 national championship.
• Second-ranked Pepperdine and No. 7 Florida International are set to face the Gamecocks in next weekend’s Palmetto Invitational. The Waves won their second national title last season, while the Panthers lost in the opening round to Hawaii before being eliminated by Florida State.
• The three teams went a combined 51-8 last season.

Breaking into the Rankings
• The Gamecocks earned the program’s first ranking by breaking into the first DiG Magazine Collegiate Sand Poll of the season at No. 20.
• Carolina will face six teams ranked in the latest poll this season, including No. 2 Pepperdine, No. 4 Florida State, No. 6 Florida International, No. 10 Georgia State, No. 16 North Florida and No. 17 Tulane.

Scouting Carson-Newman
• The Eagles are opening their first season of sand volleyball this weekend. Carson-Newman is a Division II school that competes in the South Atlantic Conference.
• Carson-Newman’s roster is made up entirely of players from its indoor program.
• Head coach Dan Ahiers also serves as head coach for the Eagles indoor team.
• Senior Jenna Wilson, who is projected to be on the Eagles’ No. 1 pair, became Carson-Newman’s first indoor All-American in the fall by earning AVCA Honorable Mention All-America honors.
• Wilson’s partner, senior Rachel Harper, was an AVCA All-Southeast Region selection for the indoor team.

Scouting Arizona State
• The Sun Devils enter the weekend with a 1-2 record on the season.
• This weekend is the program’s first trip to the East Coast. The Sun Devils played all their duals in Arizona and California last season.
• Arizona State went 6-5 in the program’s inaugural season in 2014.
• Friday’s meeting will be the first between South Carolina and Arizona State.
• Senior Bethany Jorgensen, who posted a 6-7 record at No. 1 with Bianca Arellano last season, has teamed with Jordy Checkal at No. 1 this season. The pair has a 1-2 record heading into the weekend.
• Arellano is paired with Macey Gardner at No. 2 this season and has a 2-1 record to date.
• The Sun Devils No. 4 pair of Kizzy Willey and Sydney Palmer is 3-0 on the year.

Scouting Tulane
• Tulane is in its fourth season of sand volleyball.
• Saturday’s meeting will be the first between the Gamecocks and Green Wave.
• The Green Wave enter the Gamecock Invitational with a 6-3 record, including a three-dual winning streak.
• In the team’s first five duals this season, Madeline Mertz and Lan Nguyen played at No. 1 and had a 2-3 record. The duo then moved to No. 2 for the next four duals and went 3-1.
• After going 3-2 at No. 2 in the first five duals this season, Jackie Wegner and Tea Juric took over at No. 1 and turned in a 3-1 record. Wegner and Juric played at No. 1 during the entire 2014 season and had a 19-15 overall record, including an 8-7 mark in dual play.
• Tulane’s No. 4 pair of Courtney Liddle and Annie Shurtz is 7-2 on the year, including five straight wins.

Scouting No. 4 Florida State
• Florida State enters the invitational with a 5-3 record.
• Five of the Seminoles’ eight duals this season have been against teams ranked in the AVCA Top 10. Florida State went 2-3 in those duals.
• Florida State went 19-3 last season and finished runner-up at the AVCA Sand National Championship, falling to Pepperdine 3-2 in the final.
• Senior Jace Pardon, who teamed with Aurora Davis to go 41-4 at No. 1 last season, returns to lead the way. Pardon is a two-time AVCA All-American and has teamed with Sarah Wickstrom to go 5-3 at No. 1 this season.
• Florida State’s pairs of Victoria Paranagua and Kristina Pellitteri (8-3) and Julie Brown and Melanie Pavels (6-2) have combined to go 14-5 while playing at both No. 3 and No. 4 this season.

Series History vs. No. 4 Florida State
• The Seminoles lead the series with the Gamecocks 2-0.
• Florida State swept Carolina 5-0 in Tallahassee, Fla., on March 29, 2014 and 5-0 in Charleston, S.C., on April 5, 2014. The Seminoles did not lose a set in those duals.

Scouting UAB
• UAB enters the weekend with a 1-3 record, including a 1-1 mark on the road.
• The Blazers went 5-9 last season.
• UAB returns its top pair of Kiriana Hirini and Bethanie Thomas. The tandem went 11-6 at No. 1 last season. The duo is 2-2 this season at No. 1. Hirini and Thomas are 1-1 all-time in duals with South Carolina.
• UAB’s second best pair of Sara Rishell and Rachel Fairbanks is also back after going 11-5 last season at No. 2 and No. 3. Rishell and Fairbanks have played at No. 3 this season and have a 1-3 record.
• UAB’s No. 5 pair of Becca Howard and Avei Logolea is 3-1 this season.

Series History vs. UAB
• The Gamecocks are 2-0 all-time against the Blazers.
• Carolina defeated UAB 3-2 at the Gamecock Invitational last season (3/22/14). The Gamecocks trailed 2-1 after losing at No. 1 and No. 4 and winning at No. 2. Carolina rallied to win at N. 3 and No. 5 to claim the victory.
• The Gamecocks won 4-1 at UAB earlier this season (3/10/15), the program’s first true road win. UAB’s only point came from a win at No. 5.