Beach Volleyball splits pair to wrap up play at Coastal Carolina

Conway, S.C. —- The Catawba College Beach Volleyball Team (8-15) was once again in action on Saturday at the Coastal Carolina Beach Volleyball Complex, earning a 3-2 victory over the Emmanuel Lions in an early morning matchup before being defeated 4-1 in an afternoon tilt by the Erskine Flying Fleet 

MATCH ONE | Catawba 3, Emmanuel 2 

HOW IT HAPPENED 

-  The first match to conclude would be on Court No. 5, where JJ Quarrels and Brooklyn Calkinswould take down Cailin Pritchard and Abbye Carver in two sets. The Catawba duo earned a 21-16 victory in the first set before rolling to a 21-9 triumph in the second to hand Catawba the first point of the game  

- It was a tight matchup on Court No. 4, with Kennedy Kimbro and Jada Whittal just being edged out in a pair of 21-19 sets by Emmanuel's duo of Lauren Pace and Aaliyah Lobendahn to tie the match at 1-1 

- On Court No. 2, Christina Knotts and Morgan Childresswould take down Layla Bland and Ella Johns to hand Catawba the lead again, 2-1. Knotts and Childress earned a 21-13 victory in the first set before Bland and Johns rallied in a 21-16 second set to tie things up and force a third frame. Catawba's duo would leave no doubt in the ensuing third set, cruising to a 15-3 win  

- Hayes Smith and Savanna Corrales were defeated from the No. 4 position by Izabela Zukowski and Ellie Jackson, with the tandem from Emmanuel tying the game at 2-2 thanks to a 21-13 win in the first set and a close 21-19 ledger in the second  

- In a battle for the decisive final point on the No. 3 court, it would prove to be Catawba's duo of Katie Willingham and Ragan Ballwho would take the win. The pair knocked off Rachel McGlamery and Brianna Bigelow first in a nail-biting 22-20 first set, and then in a 21-15 second set to hand Catawba their third point for the overall victory 

- Lauren Shepherd and Megan Halfordwere also in action on the No. 6 court, as they would just be defeated in three sets by Hannah Farrar and Maya Hedden. After dropping a close first set, 23-21, Shepherd and Halford battled back with a 21-14 rally in the second; but it would be Farrar and Hedden who took the win, with a 15-11 final frame  

 
MATCH TWO | Catawba 1, Erskine 4 

HOW IT HAPPENED 

- The battle on the No. 5 court would again be the first to wrap up play, with Kimbro and Whittal being defeated by Kayley Preston and Micah Diffley 21-13 and 21-9 as Erskine claimed the first point 

- Quarrels and Calkins would also be downed on the No. 4 court, as Caroline Kelly and Phoenix Slager gave the Flying Fleet their second point with a 21-14 victory in the first set and a 21-16 mark in the second  

- Knotts and Childress earned Catawba's first point of the matchup on Court No. 3, as they defeated Elly Davis and Anna Haselden in three sets. While Davis and Haselden took the first set 21-13, Knotts and Childress rallied for a 21-12 victory to force a third frame and then clutched the point with a 15-12 triumph 

- Willingham and Ball would be defeated on Court No. 4 by Paige Knotts and Sarilyne Walley, with the Erskine tandem eking out a 23-21 win in the first set before clinching their side's third point and the win with a 21-17 second set  

- On the No. 1 court, Smith and Corrales fell to Sam Bebber and M.J. Crackett in three sets. The Catawba duo dropped the first set 21-8, but forced a third set by clutching a 22-20 victory in the second. In a back-and-forth third frame, it would be Bebber and Crackett who would emerge victorious, 15-13 

- Shepherd and Halford were again in action on the No. 6 court, though they would drop a two-set match to Paige Reeves and Logan Webster, 21-13 and 21-19  

UP NEXT 

- Catawba Beach Volleyball returns to action on Wednesday, April 3rdas they travel to Lynchburg, Va. to take on both the Lynchburg Wasps and the Liberty Flames. Match times are TBA.