ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. --- The College of Charleston beach volleyball team dropped a pair of matches on Sunday at the University of North Florida Invitational, falling 5-0 to South Carolina and 4-1 to No. 11 Florida International.
 
The duo of Kennedy Madison (Evansville, Ind.) and Rianna Brennan (Los Gatos, Calif.) gave South Carolina's tandem of Julia Mannisto and Carly Schnieder all they could handle in the third flight, taking the first set by a score of 21-19 before the Gamecock duo edged them in the second and third, 24-22 and 15-12. Taylor Foley () and Lauren Freed (Troy, Ohio) also took the second set, 21-18, off the Gamecocks' Jade Vitt and Frances Harrison in the fifth flight.
 
Madison and Brennan provided perhaps the highlight of the day for the Cougars against Florida International with a 21-17, 21-15 in the third flight against Kari Peterson and Morgan Crawley.
 
The Cougars return to the sand on Friday, March 24 when they host Tulane at 2:30 pm and Lincoln Memorial at 4:00 pm on the first day of the CofC Beach Classic at the Creekside Facility in Mount Pleasant, S.C.
 
South Carolina 5, College of Charleston 0
 
Flight 1) Zimmerman/Smith (USC) def. Hills/Ehlers (CofC), 21-15, 21-12
Flight 2) Culbert/Denney (USC) def. Mummey/Rhodes (CofC), 21-15, 21-10
Flight 3) Mannisto/Schnieder (USC) def. Madison/Brennan (CofC), 19-21, 24-22, 15-12
Flight 4) Tendrich/Williams (USC) def. Rachel/Beckman (CofC), 21-13, 21-16
Flight 5) Vitt/Harrison (USC) def. Foley/Freed (CofC), 21-18, 18-21, 15-13
 
No. 11 Florida International 4, College of Charleston 1
 
Flight 1) Fransca/Hogan (FIU) def. Hills/Ehlers (CofC), 21-7, 21-13
Flight 2) Bernier/Giron (FIU) def. Mummey/Rhodes (CofC), 21-12, 21-14
Flight 3) Madison/Brennan (CofC) def. Peterson/Crawley (FIU), 21-17, 21-15
Flight 4) Sataric/Bethancourt (FIU) def. Rachel/Beckman (CofC), 21-10, 21-13
Flight 5) Blanchin/Thomas (FIU) def. Foley/Freed (CofC) 24-22, 21-16