GULF SHORES, Ala. – Gamecock beach volleyball earned win No. 10 in dramatic fashion Saturday morning, taking down fifth-ranked Loyola Marymount by a 3-2 score. South Carolina (10-7) handed the Lions (11-1) their first loss of the season and recorded the program’s fourth win ever over a team ranked in the top five nationally.
The dual was contested in two waves, with pairs four and five leading off the morning. The two teams split the first sets and swapped off the second sets, sending each match to a third set. Jolie Cranford and Kennedy Westendorff got South Carolina on the board first, rallying back from a 21-9 loss in set one to dominate the third, 15-8. LMU counted with a 15-13 win in set three in the fifth flight, denying Sammy Ansel and Sadie Nelson and evening the score at 1-1.
The second wave of matches would be even more dramatic. South Carolina won the first set in the first and second flights, LMU took set one in the threes matchup. Again the teams would trade off second-set decisions and courts one, two and three would go to a third set to decide the final result. Allison Coens and Lauren Wilcock cruised to a 15-9 win at the threes to make it 2-1, but LMU completed its comeback on court two that again evened the score. Skylar Allen and Simone Priebe capped off the victory with a 15-13 win on court one to secure the 3-2 margin.
The final dual of day two came against No. 4 Florida State (15-2). The Seminoles came away with the 4-1 victory, South Carolina’s lone point came from a great rally by Kaeli Crews and Hannah Mackenhausen on court two. The pair lost set one, but outlasted FSU in set two, 22-20 and capped their match off with another deuce set in the third with a 15-13 margin. It is Crews’ second win this season against the Seminoles, she also won in the opening-weekend matchup down in Tallahassee.
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UP NEXT
South Carolina’s trip to Gulf Shores wraps up on Sunday. The team faces Mercer at 9 a.m. ET for its fifth and final dual of the tournament.
RESULTS
No. 20 South Carolina 3, No. 5 LMU 2
- Skylar Allen/Simone Priebe (SC) def. Melanie Paul/Vilhelmiina Prihti (LMU) 21-15, 16-21, 15-13
- Abbey Thorup/Alisha Stevens (LMU) def. Kaeli Crews/Hannah Mackenhausen (SC) 16-21, 21-18, 15-13
- Allison Coens/Lauren Wilcock (SC) def. Chloe Hooker/Isabelle Reffel (LMU) 16-21, 21-18, 15-9
- Jolie Cranford/Kennedy Westendorff (SC) def. Jacinda Ramirez/Cassie Chinn…