Beach Volleyball Collects Two Wins Friday

BATON ROUGE, LA. – South Carolina beach volleyball snapped its losing streak with a strong day one at the Battle on the Bayou tournament Friday afternoon, hosted at LSU. The Gamecocks (10-13) defeated Stephen F. Austin (19-11) and Tulane (20-8), each by 4-1 margins, on a blustery day at LSU Beach Volleyball Stadium.

In the weekend opener against the Lumberjacks, the Gamecocks were able to snap SFA’s six-game win streak with a fast start to the dual. In the opening wave of matches, Sadie Nelson and Juju Quintero earned a 21-16, 21-16 sweep on court four and Lauren Lawson and Kennedy Westendorff followed soon after with a 21-16, 21-18 win for an early 2-0 advantage. The second wave of matches, playing pairs one, two and three, would see every court go to third sets. Rachel Hartmann and Riley Whitesides overcame a loss in set one to provide the third point of the dual, winning 17-21, 21-14, 15-9 on court two. VB Trost and Evie Ziffer capped the team’s scoring with a 21-14, 17-21, 15-12 win on court three.

South Carolina was able to end the day by exorcising some past fortunes against Tulane, taking down a Green Wave team that had defeated the Gamecocks for each of the last three seasons – all by a 3-2 margin. Like its win over SFA, Carolina moved quickly to take the drama out of the team scoring. The Gamecocks got on the board first with another sweep from Lawson and Westendorff and enjoyed a big momentum surge after Nelson and Quintero overcame a late deficit in set three and won 16-14 to push the team score to 2-0. As they had in their first matchup, Hartmann and Whitesides would storm back after dropping their first set on court two and sealed the team victory with a 15-13 win in set three. The Gamecocks ended the day on a high note with Jolie Cranford and Julia Waugh on court one also coming back for a three-set win; between the two duals, the Gamecocks went 5-1 in three-set matches on Friday.

UP NEXT
The Battle on the Bayou tournament continues Saturday, April 12. The Gamecocks face Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at 9 a.m. ET and end the weekend against Houston Christian at 11:30.

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

RESULTS
South Carolina 4, Stephen F. Austin 1

1. Katherine Hansen/Tessa Rogers (SFA) def. Jolie Cranford/Julia Waugh (SC) 20-22, 21-17, 15-9
2. Rachel Hartmann/Riley Whitesides (SC) def. Lizzie Denyer/Olivia Zeigler (SFA) 17-21, 21-14, 15-9
3. VB Trost/Evie Ziffer (SC) def. Kelly Johnson/Elaina Amador (SFA) 21-14, 17-21, 15-12
4. Sadie Nelson/Julianna Quintero (SC) def. Kylie Golden/Ashley Boswell (SFA) 21-16, 21-16
5. Lauren Lawson/Kennedy Westendorff (SC) def. Jennah Atchley/Meagan Ledbetter (SFA) 21-16, 21-18

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

South Carolina 4, Tulane 1

1. Jolie Cranford/Julia Waugh (SC) def. Emily Heintzelman/McKenzie Cutler (TULANE) 23-25, 21-18, 15-12
2. Rachel Hartmann/Riley Whitesides (SC) def. Skylar Ensign/Molly Trodd (TULANE) 18-21, 21-13, 15-13
3. Sam O’Connor/Gigi Gallegos (TULANE) def. VB Trost/Evie Ziffer (SC) 23-21, 21-14
4. Sadie Nelson/Julianna Quintero (SC) def. Sara Hall/Samantha Green (TULANE) 21-16, 17-21, 16-14
5. Lauren Lawson/Kennedy Westendorff (SC) def. Amelia Mullen/Avery Burks (TULANE) 21-16, 21-18

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