Beach Volleyball 3/26/2023 8:32:00 PM

No. 11 Sandy Panthers Sweep at Gamecock Grand Slam

COLUMBIA, S.C.— No. 11 Georgia State beach volleyball (13-7) posted an unbeaten 3-0 record with wins over Tampa, Arizona State and host No. 16 South Carolina at the Gamecock Grand Slam this weekend. First-flight pair Angel Ferary and Bella Ferary capped the unblemished mark for the Sandy Panthers by posting a three-set victory at the top flight against the hosting Gamecocks to clinch match point.

Highlighting the weekend in Columbia was head coach Beth Van Fleet securing career win number 200 in the team's win over Arizona State on Saturday. The milestone comes in Van Fleet's tenth season coaching for GSU, as the Sandy Panthers' head coach currently ranks third in wins among active NCAA beach volleyball coaches.

Saturday saw the Sandys open with a strong 5-0 sweep in a rematch facing Tampa. GSU previously posted a 4-1 victory over Tampa in the team's season-opening tournament in Jacksonville on Feb. 25.

GSU notched a second 5-0 shutout victory over Arizona State and wrapped the first day of competition charting back-to-back sweeps. The Sandy Panthers saw straight-set victories at all but one flight throughout Saturday's slate of competition.

With the second day of competition on Sunday seeing weather delays impacting tournament play, the team's match facing Houston Christian would ultimately be stopped and canceled.

After further delays caused by weather, GSU battled host South Carolina to close competition in Columbia. Aliisa Vuorinen and Destiny White teamed to secure a win at the fourth flight, while Ayla Johnson teamed with Maddy Delmonte for a win at the fifth flight, accounting for a pair of points in GSU's favor and a 2-0 lead for the dual.

The Sandys saw hard-fought losses at flights No. 2 and No. 3 as the Gamecocks evened the dual at 2-2. The Ferary duo played to a third set at the first flight with an opportunity to clinch match point for GSU with a win.

The sisters would ultimately down South Carolina's top pair, earning the duo a third victory for the weekend to go with the team's unblemished 3-0 mark. Pairs Vuorinen/White and Johnson/Delmonte also ended the tournament notching 3-0 final records for the weekend's competition.

The Sandy Panthers improve to 13-7 overall for 2023 following the undefeated weekend in Columbia.

No. 11 Georgia State will return to tournament play next weekend as the team travels to Manhattan Beach, California, for East Meets West hosted by UCLA. Dual match competition will take place on March 31-April 1 and include four ranked matchups against tournament host No. 3 UCLA, No. 2 USC, No. 7 LMU and No. 8 Hawaii.

More information leading up to the tournament in California will be released later in the week. Follow Georgia State beach volleyball on Twitter and Instagram (@GSUBeachVb) for continued updates and complete coverage of the team's 2023 spring campaign.

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