Beach Volleyball Wraps Up Opening Weekend

TALLAHASSEE, FLA. – South Carolina beach volleyball dropped a pair of Sunday duals on the final day of the Seminole Beach Bash, losing 3-2 to No. 20 Washington and 4-1 to No. 2 Florida State. The Gamecocks finished the opening weekend with a 1-3 record, facing four ranked teams in the two-day event.

The morning opener against the Huskies, was tight from start to finish. South Carolina opened the scoring behind a 21-17, 21-17 sweep for Jolie Cranford and Lauren Wilcock on court four, but Washington answered quickly with a sweep of the fifth pairing. Both matches on the top two courts would go to a third set and the Huskies claimed both to clinch the team victory, spoiling a stellar effort from Allison Coens and Hannah Mackenhausen on court three; the pair won a marathon match, 26-24, 36-34 for Carolina’s second point.

In the weekend finale, the second-ranked Seminoles wrapped the team win up behind sweeps on four courts, but the Gamecocks were able to rally back for a three-set win on court two. Kaeli Crews and Kennedy Westendorff recovered from a second-set loss to win 15-13 for the final point of the dual.

For continued updates on the team, follow @GamecockBeachVB on Twitter and Instagram.

UP NEXT
The team will head back on the road for week two, traveling west to the Tiger Beach Challenge in Baton Rouge. The schedule features five games over two days, with duals against UAB, North Alabama and host LSU on March 4 and Central Arkansas and Southeastern Louisiana on March 5.

RESULTS
No. 20 Washington 3, No. 19 South Carolina 2

1. Loreen/Robinson (UW) def. Allen/Priebe (SC), 17-21, 23-21, 15-10
2. Monk/Mather (UW) def. Crews/Westendorff (SC), 21-19, 16-21, 19-17
3. Coens/Mackenhausen (SC) def. Bowman/Sinclair (UW), 26-24, 36-34
4. Cranford/Wilcock (SC) def. Yerex/Dahl (UW), 21-17, 21-17
5. Gormally/DeFalco (UW) def. Gleason/Gray (SC), 21-17, 21-18

Order of Finish: 4,5,1,2*,3
*-Deciding Point

No. 2 Florida State 4, No. 19 South Carolina 1

1. Anderson/Kalkhoff (FSU) def. Allen/Priebe (SC), 21-17, 22-20
2. Crews/Westendorff (SC) def. White/Durish (FSU), 21-18, 15-21, 15-13
3. Long/Polo (FSU) def. Coens/Mackenhausen (SC), 21-15, 21-17
4. Chacon/Moon (FSU) def. Cranford/Wilcock (SC), 22-20, 21-17
5. Sassack/Charles (FSU) def. Gleason/Teal (SC), 21-15, 21-19

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