March 22, 2016

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The South Carolina beach volleyball team defeated in-state foe College of Charleston 4-1 on Tuesday night at Wheeler Beach.

Carolina won all four matches in straight sets and improved to 10-4 on the year. The Gamecocks are 8-1 in home matches.

Jade Vitt and Delaney Wood put the Gamecocks on the board with 21-19, 21-15 win over Maddie Hills and Lauren Hollman at No. 4, and Sarah Blomgren and Aubrey Ezell edged Krissy Mummey and McKala Rhodes 21-15, 23-21 in the No. 2 position.

Macie Tendrich and Katie Reilly clinched the match for the Gamecocks when they dropped Kennedy Madison and Katja Ehlers 21-9, 21-17 at No. 3.

Devan Rachel and Allison Beckman claimed the lone point for the Cougars when they topped Erin Neuenfeldt and Katie McCormick. Julia Mannisto and Shannon Williams closed out the day for Carolina with a 21-15, 24-22 win over Melissa Morello and Kayla Tronick.

South Carolina is back in action this weekend as they host the Gamecock Invitational on March 26-27.

QUOTABLE
Head Coach Moritz Moritz
“This was a very good win for the program. There was a practice leading up to this match that wasn’t to our standard, but the girls bounced back the next day. For them to perform the way they did tonight, they just continue to show us that they will refuse to give up. The girls got to knock off a goal they set earlier this year, to win the State Championships (Coastal Carolina and College of Charleston).

We have been stressing the importance of executing the game plan set forth between the pairs and they did a much better job of executing. I’m very proud of how our 1s pair have been battling. It seems that majority of their matches are tight and it was great to see them come out on top.

We’re about half way through with the season and I’ll take some time to evaluate where we are at, but I already know that this team is performing at a more consistent rate now than they did in our opening trip in Arizona. I’ll be interested to see if we can continue to improve because our competition will just keep getting tougher as we near the end of the regular season. The plan is for us to keep improving and peak at the CCSA tournament and hopefully NCAA tournament. If we keep improving at this rate, I’d think we’d be right on track.”

South Carolina 4, College of Charleston 1
1: Julia Mannisto/Shannon Williams (SC) def. Melissa Morello/Kayla Tronick (CofC) 21-15, 24-22
2: Sarah Blomgren/Aubrey Ezell (SC) def. Krissy Mummey/McKala Rhodes (CofC) 21-15, 23-21
3: Macie Tendrich/Katie Reilly (SC) def. Kennedy Madison/Katja Ehlers (CofC) 21-9, 21-17
4: Jade Vitt/Delaney Wood (SC) def. Maddie Hills/Lauren Hollman (CofC) 21-19, 21-15
5: Devan Rachel/Allison Beckman (CofC) def. Erin Neuenfeldt/Katie McCormick (SC) 21-9, 21-17
Exh.: Litsa Darby/Lauren Percy (SC) def. Maren Braun/Taylor Foley (CofC) 21-13, 21-17