Gamecocks Earn Number Two Seed for CCSA Tournament
April 15, 2018
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (CCSA) league office announced the pools for next weekend’s beach volleyball championship on Sunday. South Carolina (20-6, 9-3 CCSA) earned the number two seed overall, and will play UAB, Tulane, College of Charleston and FIU in pool play on April 20 and 21. Eight of the league’s ten teams are currently ranked nationally in the AVCA top-20 poll, and all will descend on Lakepoint Sporting Community in Emerson, Ga. for the three-day event.
“As we’ve seen all season, the CCSA is one of the strongest conferences, top-to-bottom, in the country,” head coach Moritz Moritz said. “We can’t take any opponent for granted if we want to achieve our goal of playing deep into the postseason.”
This is South Carolina’s highest seeding in its three-year membership with the CCSA. Two-time defending champion Florida State earned the number one seed, FIU came in at number three and LSU rounds out the top four in seeding.
The Gamecocks will play UAB (8-10) at 9 a.m. and Tulane (21-12) at 12 p.m. on Friday to begin pool play. The Blazers upset South Carolina back on March 25, 3-2, it was UAB’s first win ever in the all-time series. Tulane is a familiar face, having spent this past weekend at Wheeler Beach for the Palmetto Invitational. The 19th-ranked Green Wave took a 2-1 lead over South Carolina, but the Gamecocks rallied for the 3-2 win.
On Saturday, the Gamecocks play College of Charleston (15-8) at 9 a.m. and FIU (20-8) at noon to wrap up pool play. Charleston also played in the Palmetto Invitational this past weekend, with South Carolina coming out the 4-1 winners on Saturday. FIU went 7-3 in conference play this season, and defeated South Carolina, 4-1, at its home Surf ‘n’ Turf Invitational on March 30.
Following the two days of pool play duals, the top two teams from each pool will make it to a semifinal round on Sunday, April 22. The final two rounds will air on Eleven Sports USA, with the final on Sunday scheduled for a 1 p.m. start.
