March 9, 2015

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina sand volleyball team is set to play four duals during the next two days as it travels Interstate 20 to take on UAB Tuesday before heading to Atlanta, Ga., to face Mercer, New Orleans and Georgia State on Wednesday at the Georgia State Diggin’ Duals.

The Gamecocks are beginning a stretch of playing eight duals in six days. First serve for Carolina’s match at UAB is set for 12 p.m. ET, while the Gamecocks will take on the Bears at 11 a.m., the Privateers at 3 p.m. and the Panthers at 7 p.m. on Wednesday at the Diggin’ Duals.

Tuesday: at UAB (12 p.m.)
Wednesday: at Georgia State Diggin’Duals vs. Mercer (11 a.m.), vs. New Orleans (3 p.m.), vs. Georgia State (7 p.m.)
On Twitter: @GamecockSandVB
Notes

South Carolina at a Glance
• The Gamecocks are in their second season under the direction of head coach Moritz Moritz after going 5-12 in the program’s inaugural season in 2014.
• All 18 players from last year’s roster are back.
• Carolina currently has a roster size of 25 players. Four players – Paige Wheeler, Litsa Darby, Megan Kent and Maddie Frome – played indoor volleyball for the Gamecocks in 2012 before making the transition to sand only players.
• Five of the players on this year’s roster – Sarah Blomgren, Jordan Wilson-Talmadge, KoKo Atoa-Williams, Allie Monserez and Abby Feruck – are crossover players from the Carolina indoor program.
• South Carolina boasts a diverse roster as it has players from 12 different states, including Virginia, Iowa, Florida, California, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Georgia, Michigan, Maryland, New Jersey, Nevada and Missouri.

A Look Back at the Carolina Classic
• The Gamecocks went 2-0 to open the 2015 season, defeating Mercer 4-1 and ULM 3-2 over the weekend in the Carolina Classic. Carolina lost to both Mercer and ULM a year ago.
• Carolina’s pairs went 7-3 in dual play on the weekend.
• The Gamecocks’ No. 2 pair of Paige Wheeler and Megan Kent and No. 3 pair of Sarah Blomgren and Jade Vitt won both of their matches during dual play.
• Wheeler and Kent went 3-1 during the pairs tournament on their way to a runner-up finish in the Gold bracket.

Projecting the Lineup
• No. 1: Maddie Frome/Julia Mannisto – Went 1-1 in dual play and 1-1 in pairs play during the Carolina Classic.
• No. 2: Paige Wheeler/Megan Kent – Went 5-1 overall in the Carolina Classic, including a 3-1 record in pairs play to finish runner-up in the Gold bracket.
• No. 3: Sarah Blomgren/Jade Vitt – Posted a 2-0 record in dual play at the Carolina Classic…Won the Gold consolation bracket.
• No. 4: Jade Hayes/Macie Tendrich: Went 3-2 overall last weekend, including a 2-1 mark in pairs play and a 1-1 record in dual play.
• No. 5: KoKo Atoa-Williams/Allie Monserez – Turned in a 2-2 overall record at the Carolina Classic, going 1-1 in both dual and pairs play.
• No. 6: Erin Neuenfeldt/Litsa Darby – Went 0-1 in the Silver bracket at the Carolina Classic…Won exhibition matches against Mercer and ULM.

Carolina in Road Matches
• The Gamecocks went 0-4 in true road matches last season.
• Carolina lost on the road at North Florida (4-1), at Georgia State (5-0), at No. 4 Florida State (5-0) and at College of Charleston (3-2).
• The Gamecocks’ top three pairs went 2-10 in road matches a year ago.

Scouting UAB
• The Blazers went 5-9 last season, including a 1-2 record at home.
• UAB returns its top pair of Kiriana Hirini and Bethanie Thomas. The tandem went 11-6 at No. 1 last season.
• UAB’s second best pair of Sara Rishell and Rachel Fairbanks is also back after going 11-5 last season at No. 2 and No. 3.

Series History vs. UAB
• The Gamecocks won their only meeting with UAB last season, defeating the Blazers 3-2 at the Carolina Sand Volleyball Complex on March 22, 2014.
• Carolina trailed 2-1 in the dual after losing at No. 4 and No. 1 and winning at No. 2. The Gamecocks rallied to win with victories by their No. 3 pair of Chynna Ratner and Jordan Loney and No. 5 pair of Litsa Darby and Morgan LaVigne.

Scouting Mercer
• The Bears enter their third season and are under the direction of former Carolina assistant coach Damian Elder (2006-10).
• Mercer enters the Diggin’ Duals at 0-2 on the season. The Bears went 9-13 in 2014.
• Sophomore Tori Penrod returns to lead the Bears. Penrod was on Mercer’s No. 1 pair last season with Natalie Braun and posted a 6-8 overall record.
• Penrod teamed with Emma Peel to win the Gold bracket at the Carolina classic last weekend. The duo went 1-1 during dual play.

Series History vs. Mercer
• The Gamecocks and Bears have split the first two meetings in the series.
• Mercer won 3-2 on March 11, 2014 at the Georgia State Diggin’ Duals last season.
• Carolina evened the series with a 4-1 win at the Carolina Classic to open the 2015 season.

Scouting New Orleans
• New Orleans is in its inaugural season. The school added the sport last May to replace women’s golf.
• New Orleans is led by Millicent Van Norden, who also coaches the indoor team.
• The Privateers have 10 players on the roster, including three seniors, two juniors, a sophomore and four freshmen.

Scouting No. 10 Georgia State
• The Panthers are in their third season of sand volleyball.
• Georgia State is 2-0 on the year after winning both its duals at the Carolina Classic last weekend.
• The Panthers went 14-5 in 2014 and were ranked No. 10 in the AVCA preseason poll to begin 2015.
• Georgia State returns the pair of Sara Olivova and Jansen Button. The tandem went 23-9 at No. 1 and 2 last season. Olivova and Button went 0-2 in dual play at the Carolina Classic.

Series History vs. Georgia State
• Georgia State leads the series 2-0.
• The Panthers defeated the Gamecocks 5-0 at the Georgia State Diggin’ Duals on March 11, 2014 and 4-1 in Charleston, S.C. on April 6, 2014.