COLUMBIA, S.C. – Beach Volleyball Splits Day One of Carolina Challenge

Gamecock beach volleyball opened its home tournament, the Carolina Challenge, Saturday. South Carolina opened with a 5-0 sweep of Tennessee Tech (3-3) but came up just a few points short in a 3-2 loss to North Florida (6-3). The team moves to 5-5 for the season.

The Gamecocks flew through their morning dual with Tennessee Tech, holding the opposition to under 14 points in all 10 sets for a 5-0 sweep. Two new pairings started the weekend together, Jolie Cranford with Peyton Yamagata on court three and Abigail Lagemann and Chase Teal on court four. Both would be solid in wins, with Cranford/Yamagata allowing just 17 points total in a 21-12, 21-5 sweep and Lagemann/Teal opening the dual with a 21-10, 21-13 sweep. Hannah Mackenhausen and Riley Whitesides clinched the team victory at 3-0 with a 21-11, 21-7 sweep on court two.

Mackenhausen and Whiteside stepped into the number one position for the evening dual with North Florida, a matchup that was tight wire-to-wire. The visitors jumped ahead in the first wave, starting with a 22-20, 23-21 thriller on court four. Sophie Bengoechea and Morgan Downs dropped their first set on court five, 22-20, but forced a third set after a 21-18 win. The Gamecocks needed all three pairs to win, but unfortunately, they came up short, losing 3-2 to North Florida.

Notable Achievements from the Day:

Hannah Mackenhausen’s 105th career start, coming against North Florida, was the senior’s first in the number one pairing.

Skylar Allen’s sweep of Tennessee Tech Saturday morning was her 70th career victory, making her the sixth member of the program to reach this milestone.

South Carolina lost its first-ever meeting with Tennessee Tech, a team in its second year of beach volleyball.

After the split on day one of the Carolina Challenge, the Gamecocks look forward to their final home matches of March on Sunday, facing New Orleans at 11 a.m. and Eastern Kentucky at 5 p.m.