South Beach, Fla. - The Georgia State sand volleyball team went 1-3 in four duals at the FIU Surf and Turf Tournament. The Panthers defeated Florida Atlantic 3-2 and fell to No. 1 Pepperdine, No 6. Florida International and Tulane over a grueling eight hours of match play. GSU was the only team to play four matches today.

As a team, GSU now stands at 5-6 in its inaugural season against veteran teams. GSU's top tandem of Lane Carico and Katie Madewell went 2-2 against the strong field to improve to 9-2 overall on the season. The Panthers No. 4 team of Alexis Elmurr and Molley Smestad went 2-2 on the long day, while the No. 2 pair of Jansen Button and Sara Olivova picked up a win.

The Panthers kicked off the day at 9 a.m. taking on the No.1 sand volleyball team in the country and the defending national champion, Pepperdine. The Panthers were swept, 5-0,  by the Waves, amid the perfect 70 degree weather on the beaches of Ft. Lauderdale.Pepperdine has won all four of its matches over the two days by 5-0 scores.

Georgia State's No. 1 flight of Lane Carico and Katie Madewell suffered their first loss of the season to Pepperdine's undefeated duo of Kim Hill and Lilla Frederick.

At noon, Georgia State faced off with Florida Atlantic. The Panthers came back strong and defeated the Owls 3-2, winning at the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 4 spots. Carico and Madewell won in straight sets, 21-8 and 21-13, as did No. 4 flight Alexis Elmurr and Molly Smestad. The No. 2 flight of Jansen Button and Sara Olivova battled three sets, 21-18, 10-21, 15-12, to pick up the win for the Panthers.

After a brief break the Panthers hit the court again at 3 p.m. to take on the hosts, No. 6 Florida International. Georgia State's lone win in the 4-1 loss came at the No. 4 position. Elmurr and Smestad won in three sets, overcoming an opening set loss of 15-21, winning the next two 21-11 and 15-12.

As quick as the FIU match was over, Georgia State started its fourth match of the day at 4:45 p.m. The Panthers took on strong Tulane (6-2) and shook up their lineup. Georgia State lost to the Green Waves 4-1, with the only win coming at the No. 2 spot. For the Tulane match, the No. 2 flight was made of Lane Carico and Milani Pickering. They won 21-9 and 21-11. Button and Olivova played in the No. 1 spot and lost in two close sets 18-21 and 17-21.

The Panthers will rest up the tired legs and return to the court bright and early Sunday morning at 8 a.m. with single-elimination pairs tournament. This Tournament Play will take place on the FIU Sand Courts on their campus and not at the Ft. Lauderdale beach site.

Photo Album by athletic trainer Anne Bryan.

#1 Pepperdine 5, Georgia State 0
1.  L. Frederick/K. Hill (PEP) def. L. Carico/K. Madewell (GSU), 21-13, 21-13
2.  L. Dykstra/C. Racich (PEP) def. J. Button/S. Olivova (GSU),  21-7, 21-18
3.  K. Larsen/K. Woolever (PEP) def. K. Rawls/M. Pickering (GSU), 21-10, 21-12
4.  V. Adelhelm/T. Racich (PEP) def. A. Elmurr/M. Smestad (GSU), 21-10, 21-19
5.  E. Cook/Katie Messing (PEP) def. K. Kavanaugh/K. Hufstetler (GSU), 21-10, 21-13

#6 FIU 4, Georgia State, 1
1. J. Mendoza/M. Samoday (FIU) def. L. Carico/K. Madewell (GSU), 21-17, 21-19
2. K. Stepanova/K. Sukhareva (FIU) def. J. Button/S. Olivova (GSU), 21-15, 21-15
3. M. Coukoulis/C. Rosado (FIU) def. K. Rawls/M. Pickering (GSU), 21-19, 21-16
4. A. Elmurr/M. Smestad (GSU) def. J. Gehrke/L. Duffy (FIU), 15-21, 21-11, 15-12
5. E. Podschweit/T. Toghyani (FIU) def. K. Kavanaugh/K. Hufstetler (GSU), 21-8, 21-9

Tulane 4, Georgia State, 11. C. Marton/S. Asprey (TUL) def. J. Button/S. Olivova (GSU), 21-18, 21-17

2. L. Carico/M. Pickering (GSU) def. E. Jackson/C. Liddle (TUL), 21-9, 21-11

3. A. Wruck/G. Weaver (TUL) def. A. Elmurr/M. Smestad (GSU), 21-17, 21-16

4. A. Badawi/J. Wegner (TUL) def. K. Kavanaugh/K. Hufstetler (GSU), 21-16, 21-13

5. O. Utt/M. Moore (TUL) def. N. Senopoulos/A. Townsend (GSU), 21-16, 21-8

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