ATLANTA - The No. 9 Georgia State sand volleyball team split its duals Saturday, sweeping College of Charleston 5-0 and picking up one point in a 4-1 loss to No. 1 Pepperdine.
Starting three hours later than originally scheduled due to weather, the Panthers (9-3) took on No. 1 Pepperdine at 1 p.m. Saturday afternoon. Battling wind and rain, with intermittent spots of sunshine, the Panthers took two of their matches to three sets, winning one of them.
At the No. 3 flight, Katelyn Rawls and Sarah Agnew grabbed the win over Delaney Knudsen 21-17, 14-21, 15-9. The Panthers had another close opportunity to make it two points, but Alexis Townsend and Delaney Rohan, at the fifth flight, lost a close battle to Samantha Cash and Sophie Asprey 21-13, 18-21, 15-13.
In Georgia State's second match of the day, the Panthers swept College of Charleston, who was 5-0 coming into the match. The Panthers only dropped one set in the entire dual.
At the first flight, Moriah Bellissimo and Katie Madewell defeated Emily Neideffer and Darcy Dorton 21-15, 21-10. Jansen Button and Sara Olivova, at the second flight, defeated Cara Howley and Melissa Morello 19-21, 21-12, 15-12. At the third flight and picking up their second win of the day, Agnew and Rawls took down Andi Zbojniewicz 21-14, 21-19.
Milani Pickering and Natalie Wilson, at the No. 4 flight, defeated Kari Fidelholtz 21-16, 21-15. Alexis Townsend and Delaney Rohan, at flight No. 5, defeated Kallie McKown and Maddie Hills 21-15, 21-16. In the the exhibition match, Molly Smestad and Jessica Fourspring defeated Ashley Watson and Grace Rebarchak 21-15, 21-6.
"We set some big goals for our team this weekend and specifically today," head coach Beth Van Fleet said. "We started achieving those goals today. I was very pleased with how we played Pepperdine because we played up. We fought for every point at every flight, which is very exciting to see in such a young team. To really going in and digging our heels in the sand and doing everything in their power to win a point was great to see.
"Against College of Charleston, again, it was tough battles at all five flights. That was a team we couldn't get past last year, so it was really fun to sweep, but by no means was it easy.They are a great team and they are just going to get better. We will play them again next week. I'm pleased with today and looking forward to tomorrow."
The second day of the Sand in the City Tournament will begin Sunday morning at 8 a.m. The day will feature two pairs bracket tournaments, the gold bracket and the silver bracket. The finals for the two brackets will begin at approximately 3 p.m.
