Stefano Rivera/ Contributing Writer
After losing to the Louisiana State University Tigers in its previous event, the University beach volleyball team traveled to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Saturday, March 12, and Sunday, March 13 for a rematch.
However, the Panthers had to wait until the second day of the Tiger Beach Challenge to get their hands on the Tigers. On the first day, Saturday, March 12, the team faced off against the University of New Orleans and No. 10 ranked Georgia State University.
In the FIU Fort Lauderdale Beach Invitational, the Panthers defeated New Orleans 5-0. The outcome this time around was exactly the same, as they swept the Privateers once again.
The team did not drop a set and was led by its No. 1 duo of junior Aren Cupp and graduate student Martyna Gluchowicz. At the No. 5 spot, senior Gloria Levorin and freshman Katie Friesen made their collegiate debuts winning 21-13, 21-12.
The Panthers later squared off against their first ranked opponent of the season. The Panthers of Georgia State, a CCSA conference foe, pounced early with a 3-0 advantage, already having clinched the match before losing to FIU’s No. 5 duo, sophomore, Natalie Giron and redshirt sophomore, Savannah Davis, for their only defeat of the match.
Although losing 4-1, FIU kept the match close. At the No. 3 spot, junior, Anabela Sataric, and sophomore, Kari Peterson, forced a third set. Graduate student, Tina Toghiyani, and junior, Estefanie Bethancourt, also forced a third set at the No. 4 position.
The Panthers dropped their second match of the season, only one away from matching last year’s total (20-3).
On Sunday, the team competed against LSU and the University of Louisiana at Monroe. The Panthers got what they wanted, a 3-2 victory against the Tigers.
The team got its first two wins as its No. 4 duo, Toghiyani and Bethancourt, and No. 5 duo, Davis and Giron, handled their opponents.
After the No. 2 slot Sataric and Friesen and No. 3 slot Dominique Dodd and Katie Hogan fell, the No. 1 duo was the deciding factor.
Cupp and Gluchowicz went the distance, as they defeated the Tigers in three sets, 21-12, 15-21, and 15-9. Not only did the Panthers win the rematch, this victory marked the first CCSA win in program history. Also, Toghiyani’s 42nd dual victory moved her in sole possession of first place in the program’s all-time dual victories list, passing Maryna Samoday.
The Panthers continued with their winning ways in the Sunday match against ULM, downing the Warhawks 4-1. The No. 1, Cupp and Gluchowicz, No. 2, Peterson and Dodd, No. 4, Toghiyani and Bethancourt, and No. 5, Davis and Giron, duos all took care of business.
Davis and Giron improve to 7-0 together and remain the team’s only undefeated duo in all seven duals.
The Panthers will be competing in their most difficult event of the entire season, as they participate in the Stetson Beach Invitational Friday, March 25, and Saturday, March 26.
Would have been nice to have a 2016 picture with a 2016 article. Or, at least a picture of a current player instead of a 2015 player.