MOBILE, Ala. – The Spring Hill College (SHC) Sandy Badgers beach volleyball team suffered a 4-1 home loss to the College of Charleston Cougars (6-3) on Tuesday afternoon at the Jim & Betty Walsh Beach Volleyball Facility.
 
Following the match, SHC head coach Shawn Taylor was complimentary of the Cougars. "The College of Charleston has been highly competitive over the years and is one of the 'older' beach programs in existence,' he said. "They started off the season well with wins against ranked opponents, so we knew they would be a great challenge, but when we played calm I thought we did a good job of putting pressure on them."
 
Despite the loss, Taylor was encouraged by his team's performance. "Charleston is the most physical team that we have faced to this point in the year and they did a good job of capitalizing on our mistakes," he said. "A few of our pairs were able to let loose and play a bit. Bilotti and Senft were close to getting a win at the No. 3 court, losing a tight battle in the third set. We've struggled to get wins at the No. 1 position this year, but I thought Vujnovich and Gidney took care of the ball and were aggressive on the offensive end."
 
Overall, Taylor saw the match as a good learning experience for his team. "You never like to lose," he said. "But I think we got better today and can take a lot of things from the competition."
 
College of Charleston 4, Spring Hill College 1
 
1. Julie Vujnovich/Payton Gidney (SHC) def. Krissy Mummey/Katja Ehlers (COC) 21-17, 21-19
2. Devon Rachel/McKala Rhodes (COC) def. Taylor Hurst/Caroline Herrera (SHC) 21-11, 21-15
3. Kennedy Madison/Riana Brennan (COC) def. Brittany Bilotti/Sarah Senft (SHC) 19-21, 21-11, 15-12
4. Allison Beckman/Lauren Freed (COC) def. Catherine Milwee/Emily Greim (SHC) 21-11, 21-9
5. Taylor Foley/Logan Manusky (COC) def. Emily Sullivan/Emmarose Neibert (SHC) 21-14, 21-17
Ext. Lauren Hollman/Brtney Vallez (COC) def. Allison Weimer/Katie Beth Gammon (SHC) 21-14, 21-17
 
The Badgers (5-3) will host the Principia College Panthers (0-7) at the Jim & Betty Walsh Beach Volleyball Facility on Thursday beginning at 2:30 p.m. followed by a match with the William Carey University Lady Crusaders at 7 p.m. Before the match with William Carey, the Badgers will honor their Senior Class teammates with the annual Senior Night ceremony.