Unconquered

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The Florida State sand volleyball team continued its undefeated streak in dual matches by going 3-0 on Saturday during Day 1 of competition at the inaugural Seminole Sand Battle held at the Seminole Sand Volleyball Complex.

The four-team event features Southern California, Florida Gulf Coast and Stetson along with the host Seminoles.

Florida State captured the team championship by picking up a pair of 5-0 victories over both Florida Gulf Coast and Stetson before handing the Trojans a 4-1 loss in the day's final match. Over 500 fans showed up to support Florida State's newest sport throughout the day, as the event was pushed up by two hours to 8 a.m. to start because of storm threats.

"I'm pleased because USC is an awesome team," FSU head coach Danalee Corso said. "We saw them last week, and this week it was less windy. Nonetheless, our team played great. I'm very proud of them. It's been very exciting to see how many people in Tallahassee our following us. It doesn't hurt that we are playing well. It's fun to follow a team that is winning. I think FSU has given us every resource to be successful so far. The team has been working hard and we've been putting it all together. It's a great combination."

Both FSU and USC came into the final match having swept their previous two matches over the Eagles and the Hatters, so their matchup was expected to be a tough battle.

The Seminoles jumped out to win the first set on four of five courts, however, and cruised to victories on Courts Nos. 1, 2 and 5.

Graduate Student Caitlin Haworth and sophomore Jeassica McGregor flew past USC's Megan Thornberry and Kati Duddridge, 21-10, 21-10, on Court 5 to put FSU ahead 1-0.

After senior Mallory Kiley and Stephanie Pellitteri dropped FSU's only match of the day to USC's Sam Hirschman and Kendall Bateman on Court 4, 21-6, 21-11, the Seminoles quickly clinched the team title by grabbing straight-set wins on Court 1 and Court 2. FSU's No. 1 tandem of junior Aurora Newgard and sophomore Brittany Tiegs made quick work of USC's Sara Show and Geena Urango, 21-14, 21-17, while the Seminoles' No. 2 pair of senior Jekaterina Stepanova and freshman Jace Pardon defeated the Trojan duo of Natalie Hagglund and Katie Fuller, 21-17, 21-14.

FSU's fourth point came in a thrilling three-set win as senior Visnja Djurdjevic and freshman Melanie Pavels grabbed a hard-fought 21-19, 14-21, 15-13 victory over USC's Kelly Irvin and Kirby Burnham.

"It feels so amazing to win in front of this big crowd today," Haworth said. "We have a ton of talent and skill, and we're ready to play. Everybody put themselves in great position for tomorrow, and we're hoping to come up with some more big wins."

The three wins on Saturday give the Seminoles an unblemished 9-0 mark in duals and a 44-1 record in individual pairs matches in duals.

Newgard and Tiegs will earn the No. 1 seed in Sunday's double-elimination "Gold Bracket" featuring the event's top 10 teams. The bottom 10 teams will play in a single elimination "Silver Division" bracket.

Sunday's action begins at 9 a.m.

"It feels good being the top seed," Newgard said. "It's great to have some momentum and go into Sunday strong."

For more information on the FSU sand volleyball team, follow the Seminoles on twitter.com at @FSU_SVB.

Seminole Sand Battle
Dual Team Flight Play
at the Seminole Sand Volleyball Complex in Tallahassee, Fla. - March 24, 2012

Results
FSU - 3-0
USC - 2-1
FGCU - 1-2
Stetson - 0-3

USC 5, Stetson 0
Court 1: Sara Shaw/Geena Urango (USC) def. Julie Bassett/Kaley Melville (Stetson) - 22-20, 21-16
Court 2: Natalie Hagglund/Katie Fuller (USC) def. Maren Rygh/Alexa Stonish (Stetson) - 21-14, 21-13
Court 3: Kelly Irvin/Kirby Burnham (USC) def. Alisha Hoffman/Katie DiGirolamo (Stetson) - 21-16, 21-7
Court 4: Kendall Bateman/Sam Hirschman (USC) def. Savannah Byl/Kaylee Ream (Stetson) - 21-11, 21-6
Court 5: Megan Thornberry/Kati Duddridge (USC) def. Taylor Story/Claudia Kalin (Stetson) - 21-4, 21-12

FSU 5, FGCU 0
Court 1: Aurora Newgard/Brittany Tiegs (FSU) def. Karina Mambuca/Holly Youngquist (FGCU) - 21-19, 21-7
Court 2: Jekaterina Stepanova/Jace Pardon (FSU) def. Kaitlin Holm/Jill Hopper (FGCU) - 21-9, 21-12
Court 3: Melanie Pavels/Visnja Djurdjevic (FSU) def. Brooke Kohler/Brittany Muse (FGCU) - 21-14, 21-6
Court 4: Stephanie Pellitteri/Mallory Kiley (FSU) def. Lindsey Childs/Olivia Mesner (FGCU) - 21-9, 21-12
Court 5: Jeassica McGregor/Caitlin Haworth (FSU) def. Gigi Meyer/Whitney Masters (FGCU) - 21-6, 21-11

USC 5, FGSU 0
Court 1: Sara Shaw/Geena Urango (USC) def. Karina Mambuca/Holly Youngquist (FGCU) - 21-7, 21-14
Court 2: Natalie Hagglund/Katie Fuller (USC) def. Kaitlin Holm/Jill Hopper (FGCU) - 21-10, 21-11
Court 3: Kelly Irvin/Kirby Burnham (USC) def. Brooke Kohler/Brittany Muse (FGCU) - 21-10, 21-17
Court 4: Sam Hirschman/Kendall Bateman (USC) def. Lindsey Childs/Olivia Mesner (FGCU) - 21-11, 21-10
Court 5: Megan Thornberry/Kati Duddridge (USC) def. Gigi Meyer/Whitney Masters (FGCU) - 21-13, 21-12

FSU 5, Stetson 0
Court 1: Aurora Newgard/Brittany Tiegs (FSU) def. Julie Bassett/Kaley Melville (Stetson) - 21-11, 16-21, 15-6
Court 2: Jekaterina Stepanova/Jace Pardon (FSU) def. Maren Rygh/Alexa Stonish (Stetson) - 21-12, 21-9
Court 3: Visnja Djurdjevic/Melanie Pavels (FSU) def. Savannah Byl/Kaylee Ream (Stetson) - 21-7, 21-10
Court 4: Stephanie Pellitteri/Mallory Kiley (FSU) def. Claudia Kalin/Taylor Story (Stetson) - 21-16, 21-12
Court 5: Jeassica McGregor/Caitlin Haworth (FSU) def. Ashley Rutherford/Stephanie Marin (Stet. ) - 21-12, 21-10.

FGCU 3, Stetson 2
Court 1: Karina Mambuca/Holly Youngquist (FGCU) def. Maren Rygh/Alexa Stonish (Stet.) - 14-21, 21-16, 16-14
Court 2: Julie Bassett/Kaley Melville (Stet.) def. Kaitlin Holm/Jill Hopper (FGCU) - 21-13, 21-12
Court 3: Alisha Hoffman/Katie DiGirolamo (Stet.) def. Brooke Kohler/Brittany Muse (FGCU - 14-21, 21-17, 15-13
Court 4: Lindsey Childs/Olivia Mesner (FGCU) def. Savannah Byl/Kaylee Ream (Stetson) - 14-21, 21-10, 15-12
Court 5: Gigi Meyer/Whitney Masters (FGCU) def. Taylor Kennedy/Claudia Kalin (Stetson) - 21-17, 21-19.

FSU 4, USC 1
Court 1: Aurora Newgard/Brittany Tiegs (FSU) def. Sara Shaw/Geena Urango (USC) - 21-14, 21-17
Court 2: Jekaterina Stepanova/Jace Pardon (FSU) def. Natalie Hagglund/Katie Fuller (USC) - 21-17, 21-14
Court 3: Melanie Pavels/Visnja Djurdjevic (FSU) def. Kelly Irvin/Kirby Burnham (USC) - 21-19, 14-21, 15-13
Court 4: Sam Hirschman/Kendall Bateman (USC) def. Stephanie Pellitteri/Mallory Kiley (FSU) - 21-6, 21-11
Court 5: Jeassica McGregor/Caitlin Haworth (FSU) def. Megan Thornberry/Kati Duddridge (USC) - 21-10, 21-10

Attendance: 542
Note: Play was moved up and started at 8 a.m. because of the threat of a storm later in the day.

-www.seminoles.com-