TALLAHASSEE, FLA. – The 10th season of South Carolina beach volleyball begins its 10 season with one of the biggest opening weekend tournaments in the country, heading to Florida for the Seminole Beach Bash, hosted by Florida State Feb. 25-26. The Gamecocks, ranked 19th in the preseason coaches poll, face fourth nationally ranked opponents in the two-day tournament, facing No. 13 Cal Poly and No. 16 FIU on Saturday and No. 20 Washington and No. 2 Florida State on Sunday.
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PRESEASON NOTABLES
- The preseason CCSA all-conference team was announced on Wednesday, Feb. 22, with a pair of Gamecocks making the squad. Simone Priebe and Kaeli Crews represented the 10-member team, with freshman Jolie Cranford also on the conference’s Watch List. Priebe spent four seasons with Pepperdine’s beach program, totaling 66 career wins and a total winning percentage of .712. She had a career year in 2022, going 26-7 in the number two pairing and made the All-WCC first team and earned Top Flight honors from the AVCA. Crews enjoyed a breakout season in 2022, posting an overall record of 24-8, tying her for the eighth most wins in a single season in program history.
- On the 2023 schedule, the Gamecocks will face eight of the 16 teams that made up the 2022 NCAA tournament field and 12 matches against teams that finished last season ranked in the final American Volleyball Coaches Association’s (AVCA) Top-20 poll of the year.
- In the AVCA’s preseason poll, released on Feb. 14, South Carolina extending its streak as a ranked team with the No. 19 spot. Nine future opponents joined the Gamecocks on the preseason poll, highlighted by a week one field that includes No. 13 Cal Poly, No. 16 FIU, No. 20 Washington and the tournament host, No. 2 Florida State.
- The team spent three weekends competing in pairs tournaments during the fall semester, starting at home on Oct. 8 with an all-day pairs tournament on Wheeler Beach. The Gamecocks hosted UNCW, College of Charleston and Coastal Carolina and finished the day with a 28-4 record in matches. The next competition was the Collegiate Beach Bash Oct. 28-29, with a field of over 75 pairs and 10 teams. The larger field didn’t slow down the team’s success, South Carolina finished the two-day tournament with a 39-15 record – the win total and win percentage led all teams in attendance.
- The team split up for the final…