Gamecocks Return from Bye Week for Two Duals
The team hosts Coastal Carolina Wednesday night and Arizona State Sunday at noon
COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina beach volleyball returns to action with two standalone matches this week. The Gamecocks (11-6) host Coastal Carolina at 6 p.m. Wednesday night and Arizona State on Sunday at noon. Admission is free all season long at Wheeler Beach.
South Carolina has won eight of its last nine duals and are ranked 11thin the latest coaches poll. Heading into last weekend’s break, the Gamecocks opened their home season with the Gamecock Grand Slam tournament and a one-off dual with Morehead State. They finished 4-1 over that stretch, with wins over UAB, No. 18 Georgia State, Eastern Kentucky and Morehead State.
HOW TO GET TO WHEELER BEACH
The team’s state-of-the-art facility can be located behind the South Carolina softball stadium and Cregger Track. Fans can park in the Dodie Anderson Academic Enrichment Center’s parking garage (1300 Heyward St.) or in the parking lot off South Marion Street. Those coming from the parking garage can take the athletics village promenade down to the courts; those in the South Marion lot can enter from below the promenade.
OPPONENT PREVIEW
Coastal Carolina is 11-8 overall this season, going 3-3 over the weekend. The Chanticleers beat Carson-Newman and Tusculum but dropped duals with UNCW, Charleston and FGCU. Anett Nemeth and Kalin Eske lead the team with 13 wins, competing in the fifth pairing, and Sydney Alvis and Leah Hardeman are 9-10 overall as the Chants’ top pair in the lineup. The two teams met just a few weeks ago, when the Gamecocks swept Coastal Carolina 5-0 in Conway, S.C.
Arizona State is 10-8 overall and will compete at the Georgia State Diggin’ Duals on Friday and Saturday before coming to Columbia on Sunday for its dual with Carolina. The Sun Devils have lost four straight, all coming at the hands of top-10-ranked opponents, coming into the weekend. At its home tournament last Friday and Saturday, the team lost to Southern Cal, Hawaii and Pepperdine, but took at least a point off all three and nearly defeated No. 5 Pepperdine. The Sun Devils have seen tremendous success from Oluoma Okaro and Ashley Wenz at the top spot in the lineup, the duo are 9-0 this season at number one. Kate Baldwin and Samantha Plaster lead the team in overall wins, holding a 12-5 record as the primary fours pairing. This is the third dual in the all-time series, though the two programs have not met since 2016.
For updates on this week’s duals, follow GamecockBeachVB on Twitter.
