Gamecocks fall in NCAA Beach Volleyball Tournament

Courtesy: USC Athletics

GULF SHORES, ALA. – South Carolina’s beach volleyball team closed its season Friday afternoon at the NCAA tournament losing duals with No. 3 Hawai’i, 3-0, and No. 7 LSU, 3-2. The Gamecocks finish the season with a 24-9 overall record, their most successful to date.

In a tournament played only through a deciding third point, South Carolina found itself playing catch-up early against the Rainbow Wahine (37-3). A sweep on court three and four put the Gamecocks back 2-0, but fighting hard on courts one and two. Cadie Bates and Katie Smith were down a set but only trailing 22-21 in set two when the deciding match on court five was clinched. Ali Denney and Shannon Williams were in a third set on court two at the conclusion of the dual, fighting back from a first set loss to win 21-16 in the second.

Denney and Williams would finally have their chance to close out a match when the Gamecocks faced LSU in the elimination bracket just over an hour later in the day. The Tigers went up 1-0 after a sweep on court one, but Denney and Williams took care of business in straight sets to even to dual. It will go down as the team’s first point scored at the NCAA tournament, and was also the pair’s 30th career win together. 

A win at the fives put LSU back ahead, but courts three and four were up for grabs in third sets. LSU would clinch the win at court three, but in a fitting end to their careers, Leah Perri and Macie Tendrich scored the winning point in their match on court four before the match was declared over. The 17-21, 21-15, 15-13 victory was the duo’s 24th of the season, and the 95th overall win for Tendrich, who leaves South Carolina as the program’s all-time wins leader.