Beach Volleyball Heads to Arizona for Key Road Weekend
PHOENIX, ARIZ. – South Carolina beach volleyball returns to action after its bye week, heading west for two days of matches in Arizona. The Gamecocks first go to Phoenix on Friday, March 28 for matches against UTEP (9-8) and No. 13 Grand Canyon (14-6). The team then goes down the road to Tempe for Saturday duals against No. 19 Washington (9-8) and No. 12 Arizona State (10-8).
In their last time out, the Gamecocks went 3-1 at home in the Carolina Challenge, picking up wins over UNCW, Eastern Kentucky and College of Charleston.
CAROLINA CHALLENGE NOTABLES
- The team recognized 27 former Gamecocks prior to the Coastal Carolina game on Saturday, March 15, as part of the program’s second-ever Alumnae Reunion weekend. The group span all 12 seasons of the program, dating back to 2014.
- Rachel Hartmann picked up her first win as a Gamecock in the morning against UNCW on March 15, winning on court four. She is the fifth member of the team to make their first start at Carolina so far this spring. Hartmann transferred to South Carolina after competing for Southeastern Louisiana last spring.
- Jolie Cranford and Morgan Downs’ dual-clinching win on court two against UNCW was their second three-set win of the season, the last also coming against the Seahawks (Feb. 22).
- Through 12 games, the Gamecocks have played 27 three-set matches. That’s just one fewer than the team had over a 21-game season in 2015.
- In 12 seasons, the program holds a record of 201-127 since its 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 179-108.
- The two 5-0 wins on Sunday, March 16 were the first sweeps of the season for South Carolina. The team played just one three-set match all day, after playing six over two duals on Saturday.
- Senior Kristen Schenck picked up her first win of the spring thanks to a 21-14, 21-15 sweep of College of Charleston on March 16. She is the 13th member of the team to record a win so far this spring.
- Junior VB Trost and sophomore Evie Ziffer finished off a 4-0 weekend together, improving their season record to 9-1. The pair are on a seven-game win streak.
SCOUTING THE WEEKEND FIELD
UTEP (9-8)
All-time Series: This is the first meeting in the all-time series
Last Meeting: N/A
Series Note:The Miners are coming off a 4-1 loss to Arizona this past weekend at the Arizona Invitational, pushing them to 9-8 overall this season.
#13 GRAND CANYON (14-6)
All-time Series: Grand Canyon leads the series, 4-3 (since 2016)
Last Meeting: The Gamecocks won, 3-2 (April 26, 2024)
Series Note: South Carolina eliminated the ‘Lopes from the CCSA tournament last spring with the 3-2 victory, which snapped a three-game losing streak to GCU. Three of the last four meetings in the series have been decided by 3-2 scores.
#19 WASHINGTON (9-8)
All-time Series: Washington leads, 1-0 (since 2023)
Last Meeting: The Huskies won, 3-2 (Feb. 26, 2023)
Series Note: There are only two current Gamecocks who were part of the first meeting; Jolie Cranford won her match on court four and Kennedy Westendorff lost her match on court two.
#12 ARIZONA ST. (10-8)
All-time Series: South Carolina leads the series, 3-2 (since 2015)
Last Meeting: The Sun Devils won, 4-1 (Feb. 24, 2024)
Series Note: The two sides have traded 4-1 decisions over the last two meetings. South Carolina’s last trip to Arizona came during the 2016 season.
REACHING 200
In their 12th season as a program, the Gamecocks celebrated an important milestone on Sunday, March 16. In the win over Eastern Kentucky, South Carolina reached 200 wins as a program. 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 179-108.
“I am grateful to be interwoven into the stories of the amazing people that have shaped this program for the last 12 years,” coach Moritz said. “To be able to celebrate with our team and our family of alumnae is incredible. It’s a story that spans over a decade-plus of people coming together over a shared passion for a sport, but more importantly for the feeling of being a team and the legacy we each get to be a part of. We aspire to create even deeper roots and I can’t wait to see where we go from here. In the meantime, we owe it to the people who support us to continue growing and competing hard. The victories belong to everyone that helped build this culture. There are so many people that play a role and it’s my hope that they know how integral they have been and continue to be for our success and more importantly how loved they are.”
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, 13 have started in 40 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, Benoit and Hartmann have made multiple starts in the lineup, with Quintero seeing time in the exhibition pairing.
ALL-TIME RECORDS
- South Carolina holds a 201-127 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 94-31 (.752), 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 200th career win vs. Eastern Kentucky on March 16, 2025.
- 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).
