Gamecocks Back on the Road, Head to Baton Rouge
BATON ROUGE, LA. – South Carolina Beach Volleyball aims to snap a losing streak as the team heads west for the Battle on the Bayou, hosted by LSU. The two-day tournament, running April 11-12, will ironically not pit the Gamecocks against the Tigers; on Friday the team faces Stephen F. Austin and Tulane, Saturday features duals against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Houston Christian.
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The Gamecocks (8-13) have dropped their last eight duals, with seven of the eight losses coming against ranked opponents. Last weekend, the team competed at the Unconquered Invitational in Tallahassee, losing to No. 8 Texas, No. 15 FAU, No. 10 LSU and the host Seminoles. Junior Jolie Cranford became the 13th Gamecock in program history to reach 50 career wins after taking down the top pairing from Texas in the weekend opener.
Carolina opens the weekend in Louisiana against Stephen F. Austin (18-10). The ‘Jacks have won five games in a row entering Friday. Leading the current streak are Elaina Amador and Kelly Johnson, the duo are on a nine-game win streak together, primarily on court three, and are the most recent Southland Conference Pair of the Week.
Ending day one is a matchup with Tulane (19-7), which has flirted with a spot in the top-20 of the national poll for the majority of the season. The Green Wave are coming off a weekend on Pompano Beach, Fla. for doubleheaders against FGCU and FIU. Tulane got a win over FIU, but lost the three other duals by a 3-2 score. The team is anchored by a veteran pair on court one, senior Emily Heintzelman and junior McKenzie Cutler have started all but two duals in the top spot and have 14 wins entering the weekend.
Day two opens against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (16-9), the Islanders are poised to make a return to their fourth-consecutive NCAA tournament, as they are the current leaders out of the Southland Conference. Similar to Tulane, the team is led by its top pair, Madison Morrow and Tess Spaansen are 19-5 together with four of the losses coming up against ranked opponents.
In the weekend finale, the Gamecocks face Houston Christian (9-13). The Huskies are coming off four wins last weekend at the Southland Mid-Season Tournament, losing only to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Stephen F. Austin. Sophomores Rachel Heilbrun, Rachel and Kristin Gilmour lead the team on court one, currently with a 14-7 record to follow up freshmen seasons with a 15-9 mark as a pair on court two.
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