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Beach Volleyball Heads Back to Baton Rouge for Conference Tournament
Beach Volleyball  . 

Beach Volleyball Heads Back to Baton Rouge for Conference Tournament

BATON ROUGE, LA. – South Carolina beach volleyball begins postseason play Friday, April 25 with the final edition of the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association’s (CCSA) postseason tournament. This is the final year of the CCSA, all four conference members will move to the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) for the 2025-26 school year, and the tournament moves from Alabama to Louisiana as LSU is set to host the two-day event.

South Carolina (14-15) is the number four seed in the double-elimination tournament, facing top-seeded Texas at 10 a.m. ET on Friday, April 25. The winner faces the advancing team from the dual between two-seed Florida State and three-seed LSU at 6 p.m. Friday evening, the losing team from each first-round dual plays at 4 p.m. Friday. The Gamecocks are looking to build off success from last spring, when the team picked up a pair of wins at the conference tournament and made the championship dual against Florida State.

The Gamecocks finished up the regular season last weekend with three wins, two coming against ranked foes in FGCU (No. 20) and Georgia State (No. 15). Through the 29-game schedule, Riley Whitesides and VB Trost are tied for the team lead for individual wins, each with 17. It’s a new personal best for Trost, Whitesides is three away from matching her high from 2024. The team had 25 different pairs through the 29 duals, only two reached double figures for wins – Trost and Evie Ziffer (11-5), and Rachel Hartmann and Whitesides (10-4). South Carolina had 11 of its 15 losses come against ranked opponents.

Fans can follow the action for free after creating an account on VBTV. All five pairings will be streamed live, with the first and second pairs on a featured broadcast.

SCOUTING THE TOURNAMENT FIELD

  • Florida State enters the weekend with a 24-10 overall record, ending the season with a 4-5 record since it hosted the conference’s midseason tournament April 4-5 to slide back to No. 8 in the most recent national poll. A loss at home to Texas during the midseason tournament pushes the Seminoles back to the number two seed in this weekend’s tournament. The team is led by CCSA co-Pair of the YearAlexis Durish and Audrey Koenig, the pair have 24 wins together on the top court. Outside of the top position, FSU’s lineup has seen a lot of movement – eight players have made starts in three or more positions in the top five.
  • LSU (23-10) is 7-3 in its last 10 duals coming into the postseason tournament, earning the number three seed and ranked 11th in the weekly coaches poll. The Tigers are led by CCSA co-Pair of the Year Parker Bracken and Gabi Bailey, who have a 26-6 record on court one. LSU has shifted around its lineup this season; outside of the top two pairs, the Tigers don’t have any other duo that have played in more than 10 matches together through their 33 total games played.
  • Texas (24-9) have jumped up to No. 7 in the national polls and are the number one seed in the tournament after finishing the regular season with seven wins in its final eight duals. The team has two pairs on the all-conference list, Katie Hashman and Emma Grace Robertson went 21-12 overall with six wins on court one and 15 on court two. On court three, Maddison Parmelly and Karin Zolnercikova lead the team with a 25-6 record together.

MILESTONE WATCH

  • Jolie Cranford and Julia Waugh currently rank 9th in program history for career starts as a pair, with 35, one away from moving into a three-way tie for sixth.
  • Cranford and Waugh also rank 10th in program history for career wins as a pair, currently with 21. One more win would push them up to eighth, two wins would get them into a three-way tie for sixth.
  • For single-season records, Cranford and Waugh currently have five wins over ranked opponents together this season. It’s the highest total by any Gamecock pair since 2022 and is one away from joining them in a three-way tie for eighth place.
  • Individually, Cranford comes into the weekend ranked 10th for career wins, with 55. She is one win away from matching Franky Harrison (2017-20) for ninth.
  • Cranford has 18 career wins over ranked opponents, two away from tying Shannon Williams (2016-19) and Jordan Smith (2019-22) for sixth in program history.
  • Cranford is two wins away from entering the program’s top 10 for career wins on court one, all coming this spring, currently at 11.
  • Waugh is currently in 10th place for career wins on court one, with 13, she is one win away from moving into sole possession of ninth place.
  • Riley Whitesides is one win away from moving up to sixth for career wins on court two, she currently has 22.

SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST
The Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (CCSA) announced its Pair of the Week award on Tuesday, April 22. South Carolina’s Rachel Hartmann and Riley Whitesides earned the honor, following a 4-0 weekend on court two that powered the Gamecocks (14-15) to three wins, including victories over No. 20 FGCU and No. 15 Georgia State. It was the fourth time a South Carolina pair earned a weekly CCSA honor since the program joined the conference in 2016, and first since Skylar Allen and Simone Priebe in April of 2023.

Hartmann and Whitesides finished the regular season on an eight-game win streak after a second consecutive 4-0 weekend at the Palmetto Invitational (April 18-19). The duo picked up ranked wins over the No. 3 pairing from 20th-ranked FGCU and the No. 2 pair from 15th-ranked Georgia State, helping South Carolina secure wins over both teams. Including wins over Jacksonville and Coastal Carolina on Saturday, April 19, they did not drop a single set over the four wins, holding their opponents under 15 points in five of the eight total sets played.

CRUNCH-TIME NUMBERS

  • The Gamecocks finished the regular season with a 7-3 record in three-set matches during the Palmetto Invitational April 18-19.
  • The team discovered its clutch gene at the perfect time; over the final two weekends of the regular season, South Carolina was 14-6 in matches that went the distance, compared to 17-22 in the six prior tournaments.
  • The 59 three-set matches this spring is a program record, shattering the previous high of 52, set during the 2016 and 2017 seasons.
  • Also during the final home tournament, the Gamecocks erased a 2-0 deficit to defeat No. 15 Georgia State, the last time South Carolina won a dual after starting down two points was March 16, 2019, also against a ranked Georgia State squad.
  • It was the 13th time this season a dual came down to a 3-2 decision, the Gamecocks were 5-8 in those duals with five of those eight losses coming against ranked opponents.

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

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