No. 18 Beach Volleyball Completes Day One of Wildcat Challenge

TUCSON, Ariz. – The No. 18 South Carolina beach volleyball team split results on the first day of the Wildcat Challenge in Tucson, Ariz. The Gamecocks defeated Colorado Mesa 4-1 but came up short against Arizona, 3-2, to open up the weekend.

In the first match of the day, the Gamecocks struck first with a win from the No. 3 duo of Evie Ziffer and Lauren Lawson. The pair secured a dominating 21-14, 21-12 win in their debut. Following suit was Brooke Balue and Rachel Hartmann, who edged the Gamecocks ahead by another point, as they earned a 21-13, 21-18 victory from the second position. Colorado Mesa was able to get on the board after Jolie Cranford and Peyton Yamagata dropped their first-ever match from the top spot. South Carolina bounced back and clinched the match, thanks to Morgan Downs and Amelia Taft, who notched a 21-18, 21-14 win from court five. To round things out, the new pair of Juju Quintero and Julia Waugh had to fight back from dropping their first frame. Quintero and Waugh didn’t let the adversity stop them as they took the next two sets 23-21, 15-11, respectively.

Against the Wildcats, the Gamecocks secured two first-set wins from courts three and four. Arizona grabbed the first point of the match after a hard-fought battle from Ziffer and Hartmann at the No. 2 spot. Cranford and Yamagata came back from dropping their first set, winning the second, and forcing extra play. Quintero and Waugh put South Carolina on the board with a 21-14, 21-18 win. Balue and Lawson also had to play a third frame after their opponent claimed a second-set win. The Gamecock duo jumped out to a 12-8 lead over the Wildcats and were able to run away with the overall point, 15-12. It all came down to Cranford and Yamagata at the top position. The pair were down 9-12 before scoring three straight to come back within one. However, Arizona was able to claim the court and win the match 3-2.

No. 18 South Carolina 4, Colorado Mesa 1

1. Gracyn Spresser/Ellie Ask (CMU) def. Jolie Cranford/Peyton Yamagata (SC) 21-16, 21-15
2. Brooke Balue/Rachel Hartmann (SC) def. Ania Swartzendruber/Ewelina Gacek (CMU) 21-13, 21-18
3. Evie Ziffer/Lauren Lawson (SC) def. Addie Ritterbush/Mikala Henderson (CMU) 21-14, 21-12
4. Juju Quintero/Julia Waugh (SC) def. Regan Rothley/Lauren Rohlwing (CMU) 18-21, 23-21, 15-11
5. Morgan Downs/Amelia Taft (SC) def. Stormi Tadlock/Ava Blanco (CMU) 21-18, 21-14

No. 18 South Carolina 2, Arizona 3

1. Regan Holmer/Carlie Cisneros (UA) def. Jolie Cranford/Peyton Yamagata (SC) 21-17, 17-21, 15-13
2. Ashlyn Zilliken/Madeline Walker (UA) def. Evie Ziffer/Rachel Hartmann (SC) 21-17, 21-18
3. Brooke Balue/Lauren Lawson (SC) vs. Meghan O’Meara/Adri Nieves Papaleo (UA) 21-19, 16-21, 15-12
4. Juju Quintero/Julia Waugh (SC) def. Sophia Winter/Jamie Streit (UA) 21-14, 21-18
5. Sadie Moore/Brooke Boyko (UA) def. Morgan Downs/Amelia Taft (SC) 21-14, 21-17