COLUMBIA, S.C. – Riding a nine-match winning streak, the HCU beach volleyball team heads to South Carolina for the Gamecock Grand Slam this Saturday and Sunday at Wheeler Beach.
The Huskies (11-6) have swept their last two tournaments, first winning five duals at the Southland Showcase before taking four matches last weekend at the Sugar Beach Slam in Youngsville, La.
HCU opens the Gamecock Grand Slam on Saturday, Mar. 25, against 16
th-ranked South Carolina (11-7) at 9:00 a.m. CT before facing Tampa (7-10) at 1:00 p.m. CT. On Sunday, Mar. 26, the Huskies first face Arizona State (5-5) at 7:00 a.m. CT and then close the tournament versus No. 11 Georgia State (10-7) at 1:00 p.m. CT.
The host Gamecocks are coming off a 3-2 showing at the March to May in Gulf Shores, Ala. where their three wins included a 3-2 victory over fifth-ranked Loyola Marymount. Seniors Skylar Allen and Simone Priebe boast an 11-6 record playing as the No. 1 pair for South Carolina. Priebe and teammate Kaeli Crews were both preseason all-CCSA selections.
Tampa won the only previous meeting with the Huskies, a 4-1 decision in 2020. Most recently, the Spartans went 2-2 at the Surf & Turf Invitational with wins over Jacksonville and Erskine while falling to Florida International and North Florida.
The Arizona State Sand Devils lost to a pair of ranked opponents, Pepperdine and Grand Canyon, last weekend but earned a win over UC Davis. The pair of Taryn Ames and Sarah Waters has a 7-3 record playing at the twos and threes while Adriana Nieves Papaleo and Carys Thomas are also 7-3 playing at the fours and fives.
Georgia State owns wins over ranked opponents Stetson, Coastal Carolina and Tulane this season. The Panthers were voted preseason favorites in the Sun Belt and the duo of Destiny White and Aliisa Vuorinen were selected the SBC Pair of the Week two weeks ago after a 3-1 weekend at the fives with wins over ranked GCU and Stetson.
HCU travels to Corpus Christi, Texas the following weekend for the Conni & Jay Wise Islanders Classic on Friday and Saturday, Mar. 31-Apr. 1.
