April 17, 2015

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina sand volleyball team will wrap up its regular season schedule this weekend at the Battle on the Bayou hosted by LSU in Baton Rouge, La.

The Gamecocks are slated to face Spring Hill (10 a.m. ET), LSU (3 p.m.) and ULM (6 p.m.) on Saturday and will take on Tulane (11 a.m.) and New Orleans (1 p.m.) on Sunday at Mango’s Beach Club.

BATTLE ON THE BAYOU
Saturday: vs. Spring Hill (10 a.m.), vs. LSU (3 p.m.), vs. ULM (6 p.m.)
Sunday: vs. Tulane (11 a.m.), vs. New Orleans (1 p.m.)
On Twitter: @GamecockSandVB
Notes:Battle on the Bayou

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 Fiesta on Siesta Key
• During the two-day event, the Gamecocks went a combined 22-13 in pool play (17-13 on Saturday, 5-0 on Sunday).
• Carolina’s senior tandem of Paige Wheeler and Megan Kent went 3-0 while playing at No. 1 to earn a spot in the Fiesta on Siesta Pairs Competition gold bracket.
• The Gamecock pairs of Maddie Frome and Julia Mannisto, Jade Hayes and Macie Tendrich, Shiloh Burgreen and Colleen Nosovitch, Abby Feruck and Zuzanna Reszka and Haley Guyton and Jordan Wilson-Talmadge went 2-1 in pool play on Saturday.
• Two of Carolina’s top three pairs advanced to the final of their respective brackets in the Fiesta on Siesta Key Pairs Competition. Maddie Frome and Julia Mannisto lost in the silver bracket final, while Sarah Blomgren and Jade Vitt lost in the bronze bracket final.

Projecting the Lineup
• No. 1, 2: Maddie Frome/Julia Mannisto – 11-14 overall, including a 6-10 record in dual play…4-6 in last 10 matches.
• No. 1, 2: Paige Wheeler/Megan Kent – 18-7 on the season, including a 12-4 record in dual play…7-3 in last 10 matches.
• No. 3: Sarah Blomgren/Jade Vitt – 14-11 overall, including a 10-6 dual record…5-5 in last 10 matches.
• No. 4, 5: Jade Hayes/Macie Tendrich – 13-7 overall, including an 11-5 record in duals…6-4 in last 10 matches.
• No. 4, 5: KoKo Atoa-Williams/Allie Monserez – 11-8 overall, including a 10-6 mark in dual play…6-4 in last 10 matches.
• No. 6: Erin Neuenfeldt/Litsa Darby – 7-2 in exhibition matches this season.

Scouting Spring Hill
• Spring Hill is in its first season. The Badgers enter the weekend with a 3-9 record and have lost three-straight duals.
• Saturday’s matchup will be the first between the Gamecocks and Badgers.
• All three of Spring Hill’s wins have come against New Orleans.
• All nine of the Badgers’ losses have been by the score of 5-0.
• Megan Haber and Mallory Raulerson have been Spring Hill’s top pair this season and have a 3-9 record.
• Virginia Hicks and Amber Perkins have also won three matches this season and have a 3-8 overall record while playing at No. 3 and No. 4.

Scouting LSU
• The Tigers are currently the only other SEC program with a sand volleyball team.
• LSU is 10-8 in its second season, including a 3-1 mark at the Mango’s Beach Volleyball Club.
• The Tigers are 8-2 in their last 10 duals.
• Junior Katie Lindelow and freshman Mandi Orellana have played at No. 1 for LSU all season and have compiled an 11-7 record in dual play.

Series History vs. LSU
• This weekend will be the third meeting between the Gamecocks and Tigers.
• LSU leads the series 2-0.
• The Tigers won 4-1 on March 22, 2014 in Columbia and 3-2 on March 29, 2014 in Tallahassee, Fla.

Scouting ULM
• The Warhawks enter the Battle on the Bayou with an 11-5 record.
• ULM is 6-4 in its last 10 duals.
• Seven of the Warhawks’ 11 wins have been 5-0. Three of ULM’s five losses have been by the score of 3-2.
• ULM has all but two players back from last year’s roster.
• The Warhawks top pair of seniors Marcela Araya and Michelle McNamee have posted a 13-2 record in dual play this season.

Series History vs. ULM
• The series between the Gamecocks and Warhawks is tied 1-1.
• ULM won the first meeting 3-2 on March 23, 2014 at the Carolina Sand Volleyball Complex. The dual was tied 2-2 before ULM’s No. 2 pair of Michelle McNamee and Hadley Swartz won in three sets to clinch the victory.
• The Gamecocks evened the series with a 3-2 win over ULM this season in the Carolina Classic on March 8. Carolina clinched the dual early on by winning at No. 2, No. 4 and No. 3 to take a 3-0 lead.

Scouting Tulane
• Tulane is in its fourth season of sand volleyball.
• The Green Wave enter the weekend with a 15-8 record.
• Tulane has won five-straight duals and seven of its last 10.
• Eight of Tulane’s wins have been 5-0 sweeps.
• The Green Wave’s top pair of Tea Juric and Jackie Wegner has a 23-7 overall record this season, including a 17-6 mark in dual play. The tandem has won nine of its last 10 matches.

Series History vs. Tulane
• The Gamecocks won the only meeting between the two programs earlier this season by the score of 3-2 on March 21 at the Carolina Sand Volleyball Complex.
• Carolina clinched the win by building a 3-0 lead with wins at No. 2, No. 4 and No. 5.

Scouting New Orleans
• New Orleans is in its first season of sand volleyball.
• The Privateers are 0-19 on the year.
• New Orleans has lost all but two duals by the score of 5-0 and has won just two matches this season.

Series History vs. New Orleans
• Carolina won the only matchup between the two schools earlier this season by the score of 5-0 on March 11 at the Georgia State Diggin’ Duals.
• The sweep was Carolina’s first in program history.
• The Gamecocks won all five matches in two sets and claimed each set by seven or more points.

Finishing with a Winning Record
• All five Gamecock pairs have a chance to finish above .500 this season.
• With five duals left, the tandem of Paige Wheeler and Megan Kent (18-7) and the pair of Jade Hayes and Macie Tendrich (13-7) are guaranteed to have winning records.
• The pairs of Sarah Blomgren and Jade Vitt (14-11) and KoKo Atoa-Williams and Allie Monserez (11-8) would need to go at least 2-3 this weekend to finish above .500.
• Maddie Frome and Julia Mannisto (11-14) would need to go 5-0 this weekend to finish with a winning record.
• Last season the Gamecocks did not have a pair that played together for more than half of the team’s duals finish above .500.

Doubling Up
• With five duals remaining on the schedule, the Gamecocks have more than doubled their win total from last year with 11. Carolina won five duals in its inaugural season in 2014.
• The Gamecocks have also doubled the number of home wins with six after winning three a year ago.