April 21, 2016
COLUMBIA, S.C. – The South Carolina beach volleyball team has earned the No. 5 seed in the inaugural Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (CCSA) Beach Volleyball Championship. The event is slated to begin on Friday, April 22 at the Lakepoint Sporting Community in Emerson, Ga. The Gamecocks closed out the regular season with an 18-13 record, including a 5-5 mark in conference play.
The eight-team field will be divided into two four-team pools to begin the Championship. The top three teams in each pool will advance to the knockout phase, with each pool’s winner earning a bye into the semifinals. The Championship Match on Sunday, April 24, will be broadcast live on ESPN3 at 1:00 p.m. EST.
Joining the fifth-seeded Gamecocks in group one are first-seeded Florida State, fourth-seeded Louisiana State and eighth-seeded Alabama at Birmingham. South Carolina will begin pool play on Friday morning with UAB, followed by an afternoon match with FSU. South Carolina will finish pool play on Saturday morning with LSU.
Group two consists of second-seeded Georgia State, third-seeded Florida International, sixth-seeded Florida Atlantic and seventh-seeded Tulane.
Stay tuned to gamecocksonline.com this week for more information on the CCSA Championship. Also, check out the Gamecocks on Twitter (GamecockBeachVB) and Instagram (GamecockBeachVB) for updates on this year’s team.
CCSA CHAMPIONSHIP SEEDING:
Team (National Rank)
1. Florida State (3)
2. Georgia State (9)
3. Florida International (10)
4. LSU
5. South Carolina
6. Florida Atlantic
7. Tulane
8. UAB
TOURNAMENT QUICK FACTS:
Dates: April 22-24
Location: Emerson, Ga.
Facility: Lakepoint Sporting Community
Admission: Free ($5 all-day parking)
GAMECOCK SCHEDULE:
FRIDAY
#5 South Carolina vs. #8 UAB @ 8 a.m.
#5 South Carolina vs. #1 Florida State @ 1 p.m.
SATURDAY
#5 South Carolina vs. #4 LSU @ 10:30 a.m.
TOURNAMENT BREAKDOWN:
GROUP 1: SOUTH CAROLINA, Florida State, LSU, UAB
GROUP 2: Georgia State, Florida International, Florida Atlantic, Tulane
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.
– Three of the players on this year’s roster ââ’¬” Sarah Blomgren, 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 Palmetto Invitational – The Gamecocks went 3-1 in their final regular-season tournament.
– South Carolina defeated Coastal Carolina (4-1), UNC-Wilmington (4-1) and Carson-Newman (5-0) but fell to LSU (5-0).
– Carolina is now 18-13 overall, 5-5 in conference play and 14-3 at home.
UAB
– The Blazers are in their fifth season and are under the direction of Bailey Coleman.
– UAB enters the weekend with a 13-15 record overall and 0-6 in conference play.
– Alabama at Birmingham has faced South Carolina, Tulane Florida State and Georgia State this season.
– In their last regular season event, the FSU Beach Tournament, the Blazers went 0-4 against FSU, Georgia State, North Florida and Tulane.
– South Carolina leads the all-time series with UAB 5-0. The two teams met twice this season, once at the Gamecock Challenge and again at the Gamecock Invitational.
Florida State
– The Seminoles are in their fifth season and are under the direction of Brooke Niles.
– FSU enters the weekend with a 24-1 record overall and ranked No. 3 by the NCAA.
– Florida State is 7-0 in conference play and has faced South Carolina, Florida International, LSU, Florida Atlantic, UAB, Georgia State and Tulane this season.
– In their last regular season event, the FSU Beach Tournament, the Seminoles went 4-0 against UAB, Georgia State, North Florida and Tulane.
– Florida State leads the all-time series with South Carolina 4-0. The two teams met earlier this season at the Sun Devil Challenge where FSU defeated Carolina 5-0.
LSU – The Tigers are in their third season and are under the direction of Fran Flory.
– LSU enters the weekend with a 15-6 record overall and 4-4 in conference play.
– Louisiana State has faced Florida International, Georgia State, Tulane, Florida State and South Carolina this season.
– The Tigers closed out their regular season at the Palmetto Invitational, where posted a 5-0 record on the weekend.
– LSU leads the all-time series with the Gamecocks 4-0 after the two teams met in the Palmetto Invitational and the Tigers defeated South Carolina 5-0.
