Gamecocks Drop Tournament Opener to Tulane

HUNTSVILLE, ALA. – South Carolina beach volleyball dropped its first game of its conference tournament on Thursday, losing to Tulane (23-11), 3-2. The Gamecocks (20-11) move into the elimination bracket, now facing No. 6 LSU on Friday, April 29 at 11 a.m. CT to try and extend their postseason run.
 
Playing all five pairings at once, the dual moved quick with the Green Wave. All five courts ended in sweeps, South Carolina struck first with a 21-14, 21-12 win for Abby Carroll and Alyssa Keller on court four. Tulane evened the dual with a sweep on court two, but Hannah Mackenhausen and Kaeli Crews gave the Gamecocks a 2-1 advantage thanks to a 23-21, 21-16 win on court three.
 
Following a sweep of the number one pairing by Tulane, the 2-2 team score put the result in limbo on court five. Freshman Kennedy Westendorff and sophomore Sammy Ansel came out on the wrong side of two deuce-set scores, losing 22-20 and 23-21 to wrap up the dual. 
 
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NOTABLE

• Senior Abby Carroll reached 20 wins as an individual this season with her sweep on court four with teammate Alyssa Keller. Carroll has 32 wins over her last two seasons and carries a career win percentage of .711.
• Crews and Mackenhausen moved into a tie with Jordan Smith and Lauren Wilcock for the most wins by a Gamecock pair this season, with 19.
• Tulane’s win snaps a six-game win streak for South Carolina in the all-time series. Tulane’s last victory in the series also came in the conference tournament, back in 2017.

UP NEXT
The Gamecocks face No. 3 seed LSU in the elimination bracket on Friday. The Tigers, currently ranked sixth in the national top-20 poll, defeated Missouri State but lost to No. 2 seed Florida State on Thursday. The matchup is the third meeting this season between Carolina and LSU, with the Tigers coming away with 4-1 victories in both games.
 
RESULTS
Tulane 3, South Carolina 2
1: Maddie Speicher/Kendall Peters (Tulane) def. Skylar Allen/Whitley Ballard (SC): 21-19, 21-18
2: Sara Hall/ Samantha Mehlman (Tulane) def. Lauren Wilcock/Jordan Smith (SC): 21-13, 21-16
3: Kaeli Crews/Hannah Mackenhausen (SC) def. Lara Torruella/Ashton Mares (Tulane): 23-21, 21-16
4: Alyssa Keller/Abby Carroll (SC) def. Josie Cole/Samantha Green (Tulane): 21-14, 21-12
5: Haley Gibson/Savka Popovic (Tulane) def. Kennedy Westendorff/Sammy Ansel (SC): 22-20, 23-21
Order of Finish: 4,2,3,1,5*
*-Deciding Point