March 21, 2016

Date: Tues. March 22

First Serve: 6 p.m.

Location: Columbia, S.C.

Site: Wheeler Beach

Admission: Free

Broadcast:SEC Network +

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina (9-4) returns to action on Tuesday to host College of Charleston at Wheeler Beach. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. with the match broadcast on SEC Network Plus.

Car decals will be given to the first 50 fans, rally towels for the first 150 fans and double reward points for all students.

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.

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.
– Four of the players on this year’s roster ââ’¬” Sarah Blomgren, Darian Dozier, Aubrey Ezell, Emma Lock ââ’¬” 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 THE GAMECOCK CHALLENGE

– Carolina went 3-1 in their second home tournament of the season.
– The Gamecocks recorded two sweeps on the weekend with wins over Louisiana-Monroe and Jacksonville State.
– South Carolina defeated Louisiana-Monroe (5-0) and Florida Atlantic (3-2) on Saturday and lost to North Florida (4-1) but topped Jacksonville State (5-0) on Sunday.
– Sarah Blomgren and Aubrey Ezell went 4-0 in the tournament, with three wins at No. 3 and one at the No. 1 spot.

CAROLINA IN HOME DUALS

– The Gamecocks are now 7-1 in home matches this season and 16-6 all-time at Wheeler Beach, including 3-2 in 2014 and 6-3 in 2015.
– In the first dual in Wheeler Beach history, the Gamecocks defeated Oregon 4-1 in front of 1,102 fans on March 21, 2014.

SCOUTING COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON

– College of Charleston is in its fifth season as a beach volleyball program and is under the direction of Jason Kepner.
– The Cougars enter the dual with a 5-5 record on the year.
– CofC hosted the College of Charleston Invitational last weekend and posted a 2-3 mark in the tournament. They defeated Lincoln Memorial (5-0) and UNC-Wilmington (3-2) but fell to Pepperdine (5-0), Mercer (3-2) and UAB (4-1).
– College of Charleston has 12 players on the roster, including two seniors, one junior, two sophomores and seven freshmen.
– The Cougars return four members from last year’s squad and welcome eight new players. Eight of the 12 members are crossovers from the indoor volleyball program.

SERIES HISTORY VS. COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON

– The Gamecocks lead the all-time series with the Cougars 2-1.
– College of Charleston won the first-ever meeting between the teams 3-2 on April 5, 2014 in the College of Charleston Sand Classic. Carolina won the next meeting 3-2 in a dual match on April 22, 2014. The Gamecocks also won the 2015 meeting 4-1 on March 14 at the UNF Sand Invitational.