Southern Miss
(1) Florida State
Beach Volleyball Falls Twice on Opening Day of CCSA Championships
4/19/2019 4:03:00 PM | Beach Volleyball
EMERSON, Ga. - In a rain-soaked morning, the Southern Miss beach volleyball team opened the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association Conference Championships with a 5-0 loss to top-seeded Florida State (24-5). In the afternoon session of the Championships, the Golden Eagles (11-20) fell to eighth-seeded College of Charleston (19-2) by a 5-0 score.
After a rain delay that lasted an hour, the Golden Eagles and Seminoles kicked off the tournament in a light drizzle at the LakePoint Sports Complex. Florida State jumped ahead early en route to a 21-12 first-set win on courts one, two, and three. Cyan Blackdeer and Olivia Hepworth took the FSU's fourth pair to the wire in the first set, ultimately losing 21-17 to the third-ranked team in the country. FSU's Kate Privett and Macy Jerger took the first set against Madison Lawler and Jessica Austin, 21-9.
After facing No. 4 LSU in March, No. 3 FSU marks the highest-ranked opponent Southern Miss has faced in program history. The Seminoles followed the first set with a 21-16 second-set win over Kylie Grandy and Abbey Wilson at the top pairing to secure a point. They followed with four more second-set wins to sweep the contest.
The Golden Eagles fell to 0-1 in Pool I before facing College of Charleston. The Cougars, who were opening their CCSA Championship play against the Golden Eagles, jumped ahead early with a sweep of Lawler and Austin on court five. Piper Matsumoto and Lindsey Legg also fell in straight sets, 21-15, 21-12, on court two. Hepworth and Blackdeer dropped both sets as well, which secured the win for College of Charleston.
Despite the match being out of reach, Grandy and Wilson provided fireworks at the top pairing. The duo lost 21-8 in the first set, but stormed back to take the second set, 21-19, and then forced a deciding set. The two pairs traded points until the Cougars hit a run to put the match out of reach. Favre and Garraway continued the fireworks on court three after the pair won the first set in a tiebreaker. The Cougars took the second set and then went on another run to take the third set.
Southern Miss is now 0-2 in Pool I and will face the loser of South Carolina and Georgia State. The Elimination Round is slated to begin Saturday morning with the Golden Eagles starting at 10:30 a.m.
Pool I Standings:
Florida State: 2-0
College of Charleston: 1-1
Southern Miss: 0-2
#3 Florida State Seminoles 5, Southern Miss Golden Eagles 0
1: Alaina Chacon/Madison Fitzpatrick (FSU) def. Kylie Grandy/Abbey Wilson (USM) 21-12, 21-16
2: Sara Putt/Payton Rund (FSU) def. Lindsey Legg/Piper Matsumoto (USM) 21-12, 21-9
3: Brooke Kuhlman/Avery Poppinga (FSU) def. Breleigh Favre/Kellie Garraway (USM) 21-12, 21-10
4: Payton Caffrey/Molly McBain (FSU) def. Cyan Blackdeer/Olivia Hepworth (USM) 21-17, 21-11
5: Kate Privett/Macy Jerger (FSU) def. Madison Lawler/Jessica Austin (USM) 21-9, 21-14
College of Charleston 5, Southern Miss Golden Eagles 0
1: Kennedy Madison/Lauren Freed (COC) def. Kylie Grandy/Abbey Wilson (USM) 21-8, 19-21, 15-13
2: McKala Rhodes/Devon Rachel (COC) def. Piper Matsumoto/Lindsey Legg (USM) 21-15, 21-12
3: Amani Dunston/Sky Benjamin (COC) def. Breleigh Favre/Kellie Garraway (USM) 22-24, 21-16, 15-12
4: Allison Beckman/Logan Manusky (COC) def. Olivia Hepworth/Cyan Blackdeer (USM) 21-14, 21-15
5: Katja Ehlers/Taylor Foley (COC) def. Madison Lawler/Jessica Austin (USM) 21-7, 21-12
