UAB Beach Volleyball Upsets No. 8 South Carolina, 3-2

Sunday, March 25

Columbia, S.C.

4:00 pm

UAB

Hawaii

UAB Beach Volleyball Upsets No. 8 South Carolina, 3-2

3/25/2018 9:08:00 PM | Women's Beach Volleyball

UAB 3, No. 8 South Carolina 2 No. 3 Hawai'i 5, UAB 0

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The UAB beach volleyball team defeated a nationally ranked opponent for the first time in program history on Sunday night as the Blazers topped No. 8 South Carolina 3-2 to conclude the Gamecock Challenge.

The dramatic victory was UAB's first win over the Gamecocks in nine tries and it was its first regular season CCSA win in school history as well.

WE JUST BEAT THE NO. 8 TEAM IN THE COUNTRY??

UAB - 3
South Carolina - 2 pic.twitter.com/17UihUK3rz
— UAB Beach Volleyball (@UAB_BVB) March 25, 2018

"Our leadership today from Devon May and Kenley Adams really inspired and motivated the team to believe in themselves and all the hard work they have put in," head coach Kyra Iannone said. "The support from the team and the belief in what we were trying to achieve was present in a way it has never been before. We have been telling our girls that we can beat top 10 teams and tonight they believed in each other and played for one another which made all the difference."

The Blazers came out on fire on courts four and five which set the tone for the match and gave UAB a 2-0 lead heading into matches on courts one through three.

On court four, freshman Kaylee McClure and junior Tressa Buckland gave the Blazers a 1-0 lead with a straight set victory over Macie Tendrich/Leah Perri, 21-18, 21-16.

Soon after, UAB surged ahead 2-0 as Gabbi Moreno and SalliAnne Napolitano won a three-set thriller on court five against Jess Vastine/Franky Harrison, 21-17, 11-21, 15-12. The third set went back and forth, and with the match tied 12-12, the Blazers scored the final three points to clinch the match.

USC cut UAB's lead in half with a straight set victory on court two, but UAB clinched the match one court one as May and Adams defeated Shannon Williams and Ali Denney in straight sets 21-16, 21-17.

With the match already decided in favor of UAB, South Carolina narrowly won on court three 21-19, 21-19 to make the final score 3-2 for the Blazers.

UAB finished the day with a win and loss as the Blazers fell earlier in the day to No. 3 Hawaii, 5-0.

The Blazers will be in action next weekend, March 30-31 at the LSU Beach Invitational with matches against LSU, Jacksonville State, Texas A&M Corpus Christi and Texas A&M-Kingsville.

UAB 3, No. 8 South Carolina 2

Court 1: Devon May/Kenley Adams def. Shannon Williams/Ali Denney (USC) – 21-16, 21-17
Court 2: Cadie Bates/Katie Smith (USC) def. Avei Logoleo/Haley Jared (UAB) – 21-12, 21-19
Court 3: Julia Mannisto/Carly Schnieder (UCS) def. Erin Bognar/Emily Martinez (UAB) – 21-19, 21-19
Court 4: Tressa Buckland/Kaylee McClure (UAB) def. Macie Tendrich/Leah Perri (USC) – 21-18, 21-16
Court 5: Gabbi Moreno/SalliAnne Napolitano (UAB) def. Jess Vastine/Franky Harrison (USC) – 21-17, 11-21, 15-12
Exh: Sarah Nacouzi/Louise Kooiman (USC) def. Alex Kells/Annie Pringle (UAB) – 21-12, 21-17

No. 3 Hawai'i 5, UAB 0
Court 1: Ka'iwi Schucht/Emily Maglio (UH) def. Kenley Adams/Devon May (UAB) 25-23, 21-19?
Court 2: Laurel Weaver/Carly Kan (UH) def. Haley Jared/Avei Logoleo (UAB) 21-8, 21-11?
Court 3: Lea Monkhouse/Morgan Martin (UH) def. Kaylee McClure/Tressa Buckland (UAB) 21-14, 22-20?
Court 4: Ari Homayun/Amy Ozee (UH) def. Emily Martinez/Erin Bognar (UAB) 21-16, 21-14?
Court 5: Hannah Zalopany/Paige Dreeuws (UH) def. Gabbi Moreno/SalliAnne Napolitano (UAB) 21-13, 21-10
Exh: Hi'ilawe Huddleston/Allyssah Fitterer (UH) def. Alex Kells/Annie Pringle (UAB) 21-15, 10-21, 15-8