Gamecocks Wrap Up Weekend in Arizona

TEMPE, ARIZ. – South Carolina beach volleyball ended its weekend in Arizona with two losses on Saturday. Day two of the ASU/GCU Invitational moved to Tempe, the Gamecocks opened the day with a 3-2 loss to No. 19 Washington (11-9) and finished with a 4-1 loss to host No. 12 Arizona State (14-8).

In the first group of matches with the Huskes, the Gamecocks got on the board first on court two. Rachel Hartmann and Riley Whitesides gutted out a 34-32 win in their opening set before taking the second set by a more comfortable 21-16 margin. Washington countered with a three-set 21-19, 16-21, 15-13 win on court four, denying Sadie Nelson and Juju Quintero a comeback effort. In the final three pairings, the Huskies took a 2-1 lead with a sweep on court five, but Carolina would not let the momentum slip thanks to first-set wins on courts one and three.

Jolie Cranford and Julia Waugh dominated their match on court one to even the team score at 2-2, winning 21-10, 21-12. Like Friday night’s dual against No. 13 Grand Canyon, the final decision would come down to court three and Morgan Downs and VB Trost. After they won set one, 21-17, Washington evened the match with a 21-17 win of its own. In the final sprint to 15 points, the Huskies pushed away from a 6-6 tie with three unanswered points and held the advantage the rest of the way in a 15-9 win that clinched the team victory.

In the weekend finale, the Sun Devils jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead with sweeps of the top two courts and a comeback win in three sets on court four. The final match of the weekend would go for the Gamecocks, though, as freshman Sophie Lyen teamed with senior Kennedy Westendorff for a comeback win of their own on court five, winning 18-21, 21-19, 15-11 for the final 4-1 margin. It was Lyen’s first career start and win.

UP NEXT
The schedule ramps up again next weekend when the team travels to Tallahassee for the Unconquered Invitational, hosted by Florida State. It will be South Carolina’s midseason conference tournament, featuring CCSA duals against the host Seminoles, Texas and LSU along with Florida Atlantic. All four opponents next weekend are currently ranked in the top 15 of the weekly coaches poll.

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