Beach Volleyball Sets Win Record to Close 2017 Regular Season

April 15, 2017

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1: Adrianna Culbert/Katie Smith (SC) def. Charis Ludtke/Katie Will (JSU) 21-17, 21-16

2: Katie Zimmerman/Macie Tendrich (SC) def. Sadie Anderson/Hannah Kirk (JSU) 21-11, 21-17

3: Shannon Williams/Ali Denney (SC) def. Maddie Cloutier/Jae-Lyn Visscher (JSU) 21-10, 21-17

4: Shayla Schmidt/Hailey Hughes (JSU) def. Hannah Edelman/AJ Baumann (SC) 21-18, 22-20

5: Franky Harrison/Jade Vitt (SC) def. Mackenzie Rombach/Ashley Clingan (JSU) 21-13, 21-8

Ex: Abby Feruck/Jordan Wilson (SC) def. Jennifer Hart/Rachel Perucki (JSU) 24-22, 19-21, 15-13

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

1: Adrianna Culbert/Katie Smith (SC) def. Riana Brennan/Maddie Hills (COFC) 24-22, 21-13

2: Shannon Williams/Ali Denney (SC) def. McKala Rhodes/Krissy Mummey (COFC) 21-13, 21-15

3: Macie Tendrich/Katie Zimmerman (SC) def. Devon Rachel/Allison Beckman (COFC) 21-9, 21-13

4: Julia Mannisto/Carly Schnieder (SC) def. Katja Ehlers/Lauren Hollman (COFC) 21-15, 21-7

5: Jade Vitt/Franky Harrison (SC) def. Taylor Foley/Lauren Freed (COFC) 21-14, 21-13

Ex: Hannah Sorensen/Caroline Skaff (SC) def. Elizabeth Hurring/Peyton Eisnaugle (COFC) 21-16, 21-11

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

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The 12th-ranked South Carolina beach volleyball team capped off a historic regular season with style Saturday, winning both of its matches to set a program record for wins in a single season. The Gamecocks end the regular season with 21 victories, besting last season’s total of 20. The team downed Jacksonville State 4-1, and College of Charleston 5-0 to wrap up the Palmetto Invitational down at Wheeler Beach.

In the first match of the day, Carolina (21-7, 11-5 CCSA) faced its Gamecock counterparts with Jacksonville State. The two teams split the opening wave of matches, with Jade Vitt and Franky Harrison picking up the team’s first win with a sweep at the fives, 21-13, 21-8.

Katie Zimmerman and Macie Tendrich moved up to the second flight an made quick of their match with JSU, winning 21-11, 21-17. Adrianna Culbert and Katie Smith clinched the team win shortly thereafter, thanks to a 21-17, 21-16 win in the top pairing — the duo’s 10th win of the season together. Shannon Williams and Ali Denney clinched the 4-1 decision with a 21-10, 21-17 win in the threes.

To close out the weekend, Carolina hosted cross-state rival College of Charleston, and the Cougars were unable to slow down the Gamecocks’ weekend momentum. South Carolina swept all five matches, with Tendrich and Zimmerman clinching the win at 3-0 behind a 21-9, 21-13 victory in the threes pair. With the win, the team finishes with an 8-4 record at Wheeler Beach, pushing its all-time home record to 31-12 (.721).

Notable

With her win against Charleston, Jade Vitt won her 20th match of the season, setting a new single-season high for the senior.
Coming into 2017, just six individual Gamecocks in program history have won 20 or more matches in a single season. This season, eight different student-athletes have at least 20 wins.
With a 4-0 weekend, Macie Tendrich and Katie Zimmerman now have 36 wins as a pair, extending the program record. Over two seasons, the pair is now 36-11.
Ali Denney ran her season record up to 21-7 thanks to four wins this weekend. She is now one shy of matching the program’s freshmen record for wins in a single season.

QUOTABLE: HEAD COACH Moritz Moritz

On where the team stands heading into the postseason
“You never know really going in (to a season), so we’re just excited chipping away match-by-match to be where we are and to be hopefully in the conversation for the future. Obviously we have a tall task ahead of us with the CCSA championship next week, so we’re just working to plug along and see what we can do match-by-match.

Up Next

With the regular season now ending, the Gamecocks will prepare for the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association’s postseason tournament. Held at Lakepoint Sporting Community in Emerson, Ga., the tournament runs Friday through Sunday. The first two days will feature duals within five-team pools, with the top two teams from the two pools moving to a Sunday single-elimination bracket. Stay tuned to GamecocksOnline.com for updates on the weekend schedule.