BATON ROUGE, LA. – South Carolina cruised to a pair of 5-0 victories on Sunday, taking down Central Arkansas (1-7) and Southeastern Louisiana (3-5) without dropping a set. The Gamecocks end the weekend at the Tiger Beach Challenge with a 5-4 record.
In the opener against the Bears of Central Arkansas, freshman Sadie Nelson earned her first career start and teamed with Sammy Ansel to lead off the team’s scoring with a 21-13, 21-11 win on court five. Across the five courts, South Carolina did not allow its opponents to score more than 15 points in any single set on the way to the sweep.
For the weekend finale against Southeastern, another newcomer notched win No. 1, though it was a Gamecock who already had plenty of wins under her belt on the hardwood. Riley Whitesides paired up with Hailey Cabeceiras on court five and dominated the Lions, allowing 21 points total in a 21-7, 21-14 sweep to win the dual’s first point. Along with Whitesides, Cabeceiras earned her first win of the season; all told there would be five Gamecocks picking up win No. 1 for the spring over the course of the weekend.
The Gamecocks again were stingy on defense, allowing the Lions to surpass 15 points in just one total set across the five courts. Skylar Allen and Simone Priebe clinched the team victory with a 21-11, 21-8 win on court one, with the win Allen entered the program’s top-10 for career victories and will go into next weekend at 49 wins.
For continued updates on the team, follow @GamecockBeachVB on Twitter and Instagram.
UP NEXT
South Carolina will finally open its home schedule next weekend when it hosts the Carolina Challenge March 10-11. The Gamecocks face Stephen F. Austin at 11 a.m. and Stetson at 5 p.m. on Friday, then Tulane at 11 a.m. and UNCW at 3 p.m. on Saturday.
This spring, attendance at home matches at Wheeler Beah are again free and open to the general public. Please continue to follow the athletics department’s clear bag policy. Fan entrance is only permitted on the north side of the facility through the main gate and only participating teams and game-day personnel are permitted on the sand surface.
RESULTS
No. 19 South Carolina 5, Central Arkansas 0
- Skylar Allen/Simone Priebe (SC) def. Julia Oravec/Evelyn Griffith (UCA) 21-15, 21-14
- Kaeli Crews/Hannah Mackenhausen (SC) def. Ryenne Gepford/Bria Garmon (UCA) 21-8, 21-13
- Allison Coens/Chase Teal (SC) def. Payton Sproule/Kayla Cook (UCA) 21-10, 21-10
- Jolie Cranford/Peyton Gray (SC) def. Marissa…