Tallahassee, Fla. - The Georgia State sand volleyball team split its two duals on the first day of the Florida State tournament. The Panthers (8-8 overall) defeated UAB, 3-2, before losing to Charleston, 2-3. They also began bracket play, with Gold and Silver Brackets.The win over UAB avenged an earlier 3-2 loss this season to the Blazers (10-7).
Georgia State's No. 1 pair of Lane Carico and Katie Madewell improved their record to 24-5, including a 13-2 record in duals, after winning all three of their matches on Saturday.The pair is competing for a bid in the AVCA National Championships in two weeks. Carico and Madewell dismissed UAB's Kiriana Hirini and Bethanie Thomas 21-10, 21-11 before defeating Charleston's Lizzie Theesfeld and Melissa Morello 21-19, 21-18 in dual play. In their first round of the Gold Bracket, they took down Florida State's Julie Brown and Melanie Pavels 18-21, 21-16, 15-10.
The Panthers' No. 2 pair of Jansen Button and Sara Olivova had a strong showing on Saturday, also winning both of their dual matches. They first defeated UAB's Ally Slaughter and Kirsten Gallagher 21-15, 21-19, followed by a win over Darcy Dorton and Andi Zbojniewicz 21-10, 21-15. However, the pair lost their first round gold match to Jace Pardon and Sarah Wickstrom by a score of 21-7, 21-13.
The No. 3 pair for the Panthers, Milani Pickering and Katelyn Rawls, split their two matches. They picked up a W against UAB with three-set win over Alison Woods and Sam Serley, while falling Charleston's Kelly Kolich and Emily Neideffer 14-21, 21-15, 16-14.
Georgia State's No. 4 pair of Molly Smestad and Alexis Elmurr went 0-3 in three very close matches. The pair lost lost to UAB's Rachel Fairbanks and Sara Rishell 21-16, 25-23 and Charleston's Sloane White and Taeler Davis 21-18, 16-21, 15-8. In the Silver Bracket, the duo fell to UAB's Becca Howard and Sam Skinner 19-21, 21-14, 15-9.
In Georgia State's match against UAB, Nikki Senopoulos and Kaitlynn Hufstetler played in the No. 5 slot. They lost to Becca Howard and Sam Skinner 16-21, 21-14, 15-7. In the match against Charleston, Karlee Kavanaugh and Alexis Townsend were the No. 5 pair. They lost to Emily Shelton and Catey Warren 21-15, 21-18. Kavanaugh and Townsend went on to lose to UAB's Rachel Fairbanks and Sara Rishell 21-9, 18-21, 18-16 in the Silver Bracket.
The Gold and Silver Brackets will continue Sunday morning at 9 a.m. Check back to GeorgiaStateSports.com for complete results.
Georgia State 3, UAB 2
College of Charleston 3, Georgia State 2