Beach Volleyball Hosts Carolina Challenge Over Alumnae Weekend
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Dozens of former Gamecocks return to Wheeler Beach for South Carolina beach volleyball’s alumnae weekend, with the team hosting four teams for the Carolina Challenge Saturday and Sunday (March 15-16). The Gamecocks (5-4) host UNCW and Coastal Carolina on Saturday and Eastern Kentucky and College of Charleston on Sunday. There are three neutral duals each day, South Carolina plays at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m.
In their last time out, the Gamecocks went 1-3 on the road at FGCU last weekend, defeating the host Eagles but falling to three ranked opponents; #19 North Florida, #14 FIU and #20 Stetson.
This spring, attendance at home matches at Wheeler Beach is again free and open to the general public. Please continue to follow the athletics department’s clear bag policy. Fan entrance is only permitted on the north side of the facility through the main gate and only participating teams and game-day personnel are permitted on the sand surface. Parking is available both days in the grass lot next to the tennis facility and the Dodie Anderson Academic Enrichment Center. The Dodie parking garage will also be open for any overflow parking, it will cost $10 (card only).
SCOUTING THE WEEKEND FIELD
COASTAL CAROLINA (4-8)
All-time Series: South Carolina leads the series, 13-1 (since 2016)
Last Meeting: Coastal Carolina won, 4-1 (April 20, 2024)
Series Note: The Chanticleers broke through for their first win in the series last spring, having come close with 3-2 losses in the two meetings before the win over Carolina.
COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON (4-5)
All-time Series: South Carolina leads the series, 17-2 (since 2014)
Last Meeting :The Gamecocks won, 5-0 (March 3, 2024)
Series Note: The Gamecocks have won nine in a row over the Cougars since 2020, losing on two courts total during the current streak.
EASTERN KENTUCKY (5-3)
All-time Series: South Carolina leads, 2-0 (since 2019)
Last Meeting: Gamecocks won, 5-0 (March 10, 2024)
Series Note: Current Carolina assistant coach Bailey Rima played for Eastern Kentucky through 2024, she played on court five against the Gamecocks in the last meeting between the two teams last spring.
UNCW (3-2)
All-time Series: South Carolina leads the series, 15-0 (since 2016)
Last Meeting: The Gamecocks won, 4-1 (2/22/25)
Series Note: The teams met on opening day of the 2025 season, with three of the five matches going to three sets. South Carolina won two of those three matches that went the distance and clinched the dual with a sweep on court three by Evie Ziffer and Jordan Benoit.
CHASING 200
Entering the 12th season as a program, South Carolina is in striking distance from an important milestone this weekend. The Gamecocks hold an all-time record of 198-126 since their start in 2014. Head coach Moritz Moritz, the leader of the team since its inception, currently ranks 11th in the NCAA record books for career wins, but because the sport was not recognized as a NCAA sport until 2016, Moritz’s career record stands at 176-107.
TURNOVER IN THE LINEUP
The team lost six players who recorded at least one win in the lineup in 2024 and four from its starting lineup from the 2024 CCSA conference tournament, most notably 20-game winners Skylar Allen and Hannah Mackenhausen, Allison Coens (10 wins at No. 1) and Sophie Bengoechea (12 wins at No. 5). The team does return 20-game winners in Jolie Cranford and Riley Whitesides, CCSA Freshman of the Year Julia Waugh (17-8 record) and three more Gamecocks who cracked the double-digit win mark in 2024 (Morgan Downs; 17 wins, Peyton Yamagata; 16 wins, VB Trost; 13 wins).
There is a sizable gap on the roster when it comes to experience; with the departure of Allen (140 career starts), Mackenhausen (130) and Coens (108), Cranford’s 71 starts leads the 2025 team. Out of the 20 women on the roster this spring, 10 have started in 30 or fewer matches at the collegiate level.
A NEW HOME, A NEW OPPORTUNITY
With the limited collegiate experience returning to the squad in 2025, the Gamecock staff turned to transfers to round out the roster. Joining the team for the 2025 campaign are Jordan Benoit and Juju Quintero from Pepperdine, Reagan Elizondo and Lauren Lawson from Grand Canyon, and Rachel Hartmann from Southeastern Louisiana.
Benoit made 35 starts over three years at Pepperdine, Quintero made 24 starts over two years and the duo teamed up for a number of key wins for the Waves. Elizondo and Lawson were freshmen teammates at GCU in 2024, but neither saw time in the lineup.
Hartmann has had one of the most unique paths to Carolina, starting as an indoor and beach athlete at William Carey, a NAIA school, for three years. She transferred to Southeastern Louisiana to play indoor and beach again in 2023-24. With the Lions, she was named Southland Conference Newcomer of the Year and first team all-conference, helping the indoor team win the conference tournament title and make the 2023 NCAA tournament. On the beach with SLU, she went 20-5 in the No. 1 position, setting the program’s single-season record for most wins. Ironically, one of her wins came against South Carolina’s pairing of Riley Whitesides and Hannah Mackenhausen, on March 16, 2024.
Entering the weekend, Lawson, Elizondo and Benoit have made multiple starts in the lineup, with Hartmann and Quintero seeing time in the exhibition pairing.
ALL-TIME RECORDS
- South Carolina holds a 196-126 all-time program record, dating back to 2014.
- The Gamecocks joined the CCSA for volleyball in 2016, and have an all-time conference record of 46-40 (.541).
- In matches at Wheeler Beach, Carolina is 89-30 (.748), including a 19-9 record against CCSA conference opponents.
- Moritz Moritz is in his 12th season as head coach of the Gamecocks, spanning the entire young history of the program. He earned his 175th career win vs. Coastal Carolina on March 2, 2024.
- South Carolina has two postseason tournament appearances, making the NCAA eight-team field in 2017 and 2018.
- The Gamecocks have two all-americans in program history: Katie Smith (2021) and Skylar Allen (2021 and 2023).
