Gamecocks Split First Day of Florida State Tournament
The team loses to No. 6 Cal Poly but sweeps Tampa
TALLAHASSEE, FLA. – The Gamecock beach volleyball team opened up their 2019 season on Saturday at the Home2 Suites Hilton-Tallahassee State Capitol Invitational, hosted by Florida State. No. 9 South Carolina lost a tough opener to sixth-ranked Cal Poly (1-2), but rebounded to sweep Tampa (0-2) in the nightcap.
In the opener against the Mustangs, the Gamecocks had a great shot to open strong, but lost in three sets at the fourth position and dropped the fifth pairing, 21-18, 21-18. In the second wave, Franky Harrison and Carly Schnieder earned the team’s lone point with a 21-10, 27-25 win at the threes, but Cal Poly wrapped up the win with a 21-18, 21-19 win in the second pairing.
Against Tampa, South Carolina earned a quick lead thanks to commanding wins from Harrison and Schnieder again at three, and Jess Vastine and Avery Davis in the fives pairing. The clinching point came from court four, where Hannah Edelman and Caroline Skaff gutted out a three-set win (21-16, 15-21, 15-12) to send the team to an overall win. In the top two pairings, neither Gamecock teams would let their oppoents get to 15 in any set, with Lydia Dimke and Katie Smith winning at number two and Cadie Bates and Shannon Williams taking the win in the top position. For Williams, it was her 60th career victory, making her just the fourth Gamecock in program history to reach the milestone.
The schedule gets even tougher on Sunday, when the team closes the weekend with a pair of matches against top-10 opponents. First up is a meeting with No. 7 LSU at 1:30 p.m., the Tigers went 2-0 on Saturday with a win over Cal Poly and an upset of Florida State. Immediately after the dual with LSU, South Carolina faces the host Seminoles, who were the 2018 national runners up and are No. 3 in the preseason coaches poll.
RESULTS
#6 CAL POLY 4, #9 SOUTH CAROLINA 1
1. Crissy Jones/Tiadora Miric (CP) def. Lydia Dimke/Katie Smith (SC) 21-12, 21-16
2. Emily Sonny/Torrey Van Winden (CP) def. Cadie Bates/Shannon Williams (SC) 21-18, 21-19
3. Franky Harrison/Carly Schnieder (SC) def. Vanessa Roscoe/Macy Gordon (CPBVB) 21-10, 27-25
4. Jayelin Lombard/Kassandra Wright (CP) def. Hannah Edelman/Caroline Skaff (SC) 21-15, 16-21, 18-16
5. Heather Pembroke/Sjea Anderson (CP) def. Jess Vastine/Avery Davis (SC) 21-18, 21-18
Ext. Eleonore Johansen/Brayden Gruenewald (CP) def. AJ Baumann/Lauryn Gillis (SC) 21-19, 21-19
Order of Finish: 5,4,2,3,1
#9 SOUTH CAROLINA 5, TAMPA 0
1. Cadie Bates/Shannon Williams (SC) def. Sorrel Houghton/Julia Oswald (UT) 21-12, 21-12
2. Lydia Dimke/Katie Smith (SC) def. Lexi Thompson/Rachel Rosequist (UT) 21-12, 21-13
3. Franky Harrison/Carly Schnieder (SC) def. Valerie Rosequist/Katie McKiel (UT) 21-17, 21-13
4. Caroline Skaff/Hannah Edelman (SC) def. Caroline Pomet/Nylah Demps (UT) 21-16, 15-21, 15-12
5. Jess Vastine/Avery Davis (SC) def. Melissa Elias/Natalie Gilbert (UT) 23-21, 21-15
Ext. Lauryn Gillis/AJ Baumann (SC) def. Marisa Beisner/Selina Pfuner (UT) 21-13, 21-9
Order of Finish: 5,3,4,2,1
