Gamecocks Finish Opening Weekend With Two More Wins

March 5, 2017

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1: Smith/Zimmerman def. CofC, 21-15, 21-12

2: Culbert/Denney def. CofC, 21-16, 21-11

3: Mannisto/Schnieder def. CofC, 21-19, 22-24, 15-12

4: Tendrich/Williams def. CofC, 21-16, 21-13

5: Vitt/Harrison def. CofC, 21-18, 18-21, 15-13

Exhib: Edelman/Skaff def. CofC, 21-7, 21-16

Order of Finish: 4,5,1,2,3

1: Smith/Zimmerman def. UNF, 21-11, 21-18

2: Culbert/Denney def. UNF, 21-18, 23-21

3: Mannisto/Schnieder def. UNF, 21-13, 21-14

4: Tendrich/Williams def. UNF, 17-21, 21-18, 15-5

5: Vitt/Harrison def. UNF, 22-20, 21-12

Exhib: Edelman/Skaff def. UNF, 21-11, 21-9

Order of Finish: 5,4,3,1,2

ST. AUGUSTINE, FLA. – The South Carolina beach volleyball program swept through its second day of matches at the UNF Beach Invite Sunday, beating both College of Charleston and host North Florida 5-0. The Gamecocks move now to 4-0 after the opening weekend, including 2-0 in CCSA conference matches, matching the best start in program history.

The day opened against Charleston, and South Carolina had to battle early and often to earn the sweep. Macie Tendrich and Shannon Williams closed out a sweep at the fours pair to get the team on the board early, but the critical early win came out of the five spot. Jade Vitt and Franky Harrison were locked in an intense match, and found themselves trailing 5-0 in the third set after splitting the first two with the Cougars. The twosome rallied back behind tough service from Vitt and some key blocks at the net from Harrison, and edged out Charleston, 15-13 to put the team ahead 2-0.

As they had the day before, South Carolina’s top three pair took care of business to clinch the win. Katie Smith and Katie Zimmerman won 21-15, 21-12 at the one spot to seal the overall team win, and Adrianna Culbert and Ali Denney followed soon behind them with a 21-16, 21-11 win at the two pair. Carly Schnieder and Julia Mannisto preserved the shutout with a three-set victory at the number three spot, winning 21-19, 22-24, 15-12.

The afternoon saw Carolina face the host Ospreys. Vitt and Harrison got the team started in scoring with a sweep of the fives pair, overcoming a first-set deficit to win the game 22-20 before cruising to a win in the second set to clinch it. The Tendrich/Williams pair at the four spot dropped their opening set, but as the first game wore down the two appeared to find their rhythm. After edging out a 21-18 win in the second game to even the score, the two dominated the deciding third set 15-5.

In the second wave of matches, the Gamecocks got sweeps at all three top pairs to ice the sweep. Mannisto/Schnieder enjoyed a strong 21-13, 21-14 effort in the third pair to clinch the team win at 3-0, and the Smith/Zimmerman (21-11, 21-18) and Culbert/Denney (21-18, 23-21) pairs followed with wins as well.

Notable

It wasn’t just the starting five pairs that dominated in the opening weekend; the exhibition pairing of Caroline Skaff and Hannah Edelman finished the tournament 4-0 and outscored opponents 168-99.
The last team to start the season 4-0 was 2015’s group. A win against Mercer Friday at home would make the best start to a season in program history.
Katie Smith and Katie Zimmerman shined in the number one pair, sweeping all four of their matches on the weekend.

Quotable: Head Coach Moritz Moritz

On the team playing well in windy conditions
“The ability to adjust and adapt to whatever the circumstances and elements are is huge. We have a lot of maturity in this team, regardless of freshman or senior. There’s a lot of experience and there’s a lot of people that came through today with the way they competed and continued to elevate our level.”

Up Next

With the first weekend in the books, the Gamecocks will return home to host a tournament of their own next week. South Carolina welcomes in Mercer, Grand Canyon, UAB and Jacksonville for a two-day event at Wheeler Beach. The Gamecocks open the weekend on Saturday, March 11 at 1 p.m. against Mercer.