Beach Volleyball . February 24, 2018

Gamecocks Defeat Two Ranked Foes in Saturday Tournament

Feb. 24, 2018

Final Stats | Photo Gallery

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PAIR RESULTS: STETSON

1: Williams/Denney (SC) def. Perales/Helland-Hansen (STET) 21-18, 21-18

2: Dunn/Thomas (STET) def. Schnieder/Smith (SC) 21-15, 21-17

3: Richardson/Noble (STET) def. Perri/Tendrich (SC) 24-22, 20-22, 15-10

4: Mannisto/Vastine (SC) def. Birker/Ingram (STET) 21-18, 21-17

5: Harrison/Edelman (SC) def. Varga/Durham (STET) 21-13, 21-13

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

PAIR RESULTS: FAU

1: Williams/Denney (SC) def. Dischler/Kinlaw (FAU) 21-19, 25-23

2: Schnieder/Smith (SC) def. Scarborough/Pellitteri (FAU) 21-17, 21-8

3: Grant/Navarro (FAU) def. Perri/Tendrich (SC) 21-17, 15-21, 15-8

4: Brok/Morris (FAU) def. Mannisto/ Vastine (SC) 22-20, 21-14

5: Harrison/Edelman (SC) def. Cunningham/Dorish (FAU) 14-21, 22-20, 15-9

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

Looking Ahead

Date	Opponent (H/A/N)	Time
3/3	UNC Wilmington (N)	11:30 a.m. ET
3/3	FAU (N)	1:30 p.m. ET
3/4	Georgia St. (N)	11:30 a.m. ET
3/4	North Florida (A)	3:30 p.m. ET

DELAND, FLA. – South Carolina’s beach volleyball team capped its opening weekend of the season on Saturday, gutting out 3-2 wins over No. 15 Stetson and No. 16 FAU. The Gamecocks end their Stetson Spring Fling weekend at 3-1, with all three victories coming over nationally ranked opponents.

The morning started with the host Hatters, and the team got off to a strong start with sweeps in the fourth and fifth flights. Julia Mannisto and Jess Vastine teamed up for their first win of the weekend, 21-18, 21-17 in the fours and Franky Harrison and Hannah Edelman made short work of their match in the fives, 21-13, 21-13.

Stetson battled back with a sweep of the second flight and a three-set win in the threes, but South Carolina clinched the win behind a sweep from Ali Denney and Shannon Williams in the top pairing. It was the team’s first win ever against the Hatters.

It was a short turnaround before facing No. 16 FAU, who had the Gamecocks as its first match of the day. Despite the heavy legs, South Carolina saw tremendous effort from pairs to pull out the win. In the opening wave, the Owls struck first with a win at the fours and a commanding 21-14 win in the first set of the fives. Harrison and Edelman rallied back for a 22-20 win to force a third set. Riding the momentum, the sophomore duo ran away with a 15-9 win to give Carolina a critical split of the opening matches.

Denney and Williams swung the dual in the Gamecocks’ favor after battling their way to a 21-19, 25-23 win over FAU’s top pair to make it a 2-1 match. Carly Schnieder and Katie Smith routed FAU, 21-17, 21-8, in the second flight that clinched the win.

NOTABLE

The Gamecocks entered Saturday with an 0-3 record all-time versus Stetson. All four matches between the two schools have been a 3-2 decision.
This is also South Carolina’s first-ever true road win over a ranked opponent.
After just one win over a nationally ranked opponent in the program’s first three seasons, the Gamecocks now have seven in less than a calendar year.

UP NEXT

The team will head back to the Sunshine State next weekend for the UNF Beach Invitational in St. Augustine. The tournament will feature rematches with FAU and Georgia State, a conference match with UNC Wilmington and close the weekend facing host UNF.