No. 17 Beach Volleyball Picks up Two Wins on Day One of Deland Cup

DELAND, Fla. – The No. 17 South Carolina beach volleyball team secured their fifth top 20 win as they defeated No. 14 Stetson and Georgia State on the first day of the Deland Cup. The Gamecocks defeated the Hatters 4-1 and the Panthers 4-1.

Against Georgia State, the Gamecocks picked up three first-set wins from courts one, two and four. Brooke Balue and Rachel Hartmann were the first to pick up a win, defeating their opponent in dominating fashion, 21-8, 21-19. The top pair of Jolie Cranford and Peyton Yamagata showed out with another win. They defeated the Georgia State duo 21-16, 21-12. Juju Quintero and Julia Waugh clinched the match for South Carolina with a 21-18, 21-15 win from court four. Evie Ziffer and Lauren Lawson had to bounce back from dropping their first set. They claimed the second frame, 21-16, forcing extra play. Georgia State was able to claim the third set, 15-13, earning its lone point of the match. Morgan Downs and Amelia Taft also fought back from a deficit. The duo jumped out to a 7-3 lead before running away with an 11-21, 21-18, 15-8 win.

The Gamecocks secured three more first-set wins against the Hatters across courts one, two and five. Downs and Taft got South Carolina on the board first with a strong 21-14, 21-15 win from court five. Balue and Hartmann secured another point to give the Gamecocks an early 2-0 advantage. Courts one, three and four were all battling in third sets against Stetson. Cranford and Yamagata picked up their second win of the day, clinching the match for Carolina. Annalyse Askew and Grace Travis added to the Gamecocks’ total with a win from court four.

South Carolina is back in action for two more matches tomorrow against UNCW (9:00 a.m.) and No. 18 North Florida (1:00 p.m.)

No. 17 South Carolina 4, Georgia State 1

1. Jolie Cranford/Peyton Yamagata (SC) def. Savannah Ebarb/Bella Troncale (GSU) 21-16, 21-12
2. Brooke Balue/Rachel Hartmann (SC) def. Danica Singleton/Michaela Jefferson (GSU) 21-8, 21-19
3. Adeline Thompson/Noalani Nuez (GSU) def. Evie Ziffer/Lauren Lawson (SC) 21-13, 16-21, 15-13
4. Juju Quintero/Julia Waugh (SC) def. Kealy Dirner/Ella Mozeleski (GSU) 21-18, 21-15
5. Morgan Downs/Amelia Taft (SC) def. Ellie Neville/Kaylie Drysdale (GSU) 11-21, 21-18, 15-8

 No. 17 South Carolina 4, No. 14 Stetson 1

1. Jolie Cranford/Peyton Yamagata (SC) def. Maria Ozaeta/Marta Carro (STET) 21-19, 17-21, 15-10
2. Brooke Balue/Rachel Hartmann (SC) def. Julia Czurylo/Zoe Flueckiger (STET) 21-17, 21-19
3. Katie Camp/EJ Cudmore (STET) def. Evie Ziffer/Lauren Lawson (SC) 23-21, 17-21, 15-13
4. Annalyse Askew/Grace Travis (SC) def. Anniina Muukka/Rylee Palmateer (STET) 19-21, 21-17, 15-7
5. Morgan Downs/Amelia Taft (SC) def. Madeline Camp/Cayla Sutton (STET) 21-14, 21-15