Beach Volleyball 5/6/2022 4:46:00 PM

No. 10 Panthers Rally Down 2-0, Upset No. 2 TCU to Advance in NCAA Championship

Beach Volleyball 5/6/2022 4:46:00 PM

No. 10 Panthers Rally Down 2-0, Upset No. 2 TCU to Advance in NCAA Championship

Gulf Shores, Ala.— Entering the second round of the NCAA National Collegiate Beach Volleyball Championship, the No. 10-seeded Georgia State beach volleyball team rallied down, 2-0, to upset No. 2-seeded TCU in Gulf Shores on Friday. With the victory over the second-ranked TCU, the Sandy Panthers match the highest ranked-win in Georgia State athletics school history as well as the largest upset in NCAA Beach Volleyball history.

GSU fell behind early, 2-0, as the team dropped at courts No. 1 and No. 5. The Panthers saw first-set defeats at all three remaining flights.

Fighting for second-set victories at courts No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4, the Panthers battled for the dual match in third-sets at every position. Angel Ferary and Bella Ferary secured the pair's 36th win, 11-21, 21-18, 16-14, at the No. 4 flight as the duo earned GSU its first point of the match.

Eden Hawes and Maddy Delmonte evened the match, 2-2, with a win, 16-21, 21-14, 15-13, at the second flight. The dual was to be decided by results at the third flight as Yasmin Kuck and Kayla Whetstone battled in a three-set thriller.

Kuck and Whetstone downed opponents at court No. 3, 16-21, 23-21, 15-13, and clinched the win for the Panthers, 3-2.

Along with tying the school-record for highest ranked win in GSU program history, the Sandy Panthers also secure a second victory in NCAA National Tournament competition for the first time in Georgia State sports history. The victory extends the Panthers' current match win-streak to 14 consecutive.

Head coach Beth Van Fleet and No. 10 GSU advance to the third round of tournament competition facing No. 3 UCLA. With a weather delay affecting the dual match tournament schedule for Friday's competition, the Panthers' third match is set to take place on Saturday, May 7 at 10 a.m. ET.

With a double elimination format for NCAA tournament competition, the winner of Saturday's dual will advance to compete in the fourth round at 4 p.m. ET with the loser competing at 2 p.m. ET with the chance to extend tournament play.

Matches will be held at Gulf Place Beach and will be broadcast on ESPNU and ESPN2. Streaming links will be posted on the Panthers' schedule page and to the team's social media pages leading up to Saturday's third and fourth round of tournament action.

Follow @GSUBeachVB on Twitter and Instagram for continued news and announcements throughout the Sandy Panthers' tournament run.

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