CLEARWATER, Fla., April 18, 2026 – South Florida Beach Volleyball closed out the second day of competition at the Gulf Front Invitational with a split on the sand, falling to No. 5 FSU before bouncing back with a win over Mercer on Senior Day.
 
No. 5 FSU 5, South Florida 0
South Florida dropped its matchup against No.5 Florida State. 
 
Florida State struck first on court four, where Ariana Medchill and Sasha Pasloski fell to Myriad Massey and Bailey Higgins. The Seminoles extended their lead on court, earning a straight set victory. 
 
The dual was clinched on court five, where Addison Bounds and Kate Stewart battled, but came up short. On court one, Julia Panko and Cornelia Crudu pushed the Florida State to the brink in a tightly contested matchup. South Florida kept it close in both sets before narrowly falling, 21-19, 21-16. 
 
On court three, Morgan Anderson and Ryann Genest showed resilience after dropping the opening set but responded with a strong second set win 23-21 to force a third set. Florida State took the set 15-7 to secure the point.
 
Mercer 1, South Florida 4
The Bulls jumped out to an early lead on court four, where Ariana Medchill and Sasha Pasloski secured the first point with a 21-19, 21-13 win. Mercer responded on court two to even the dual. 
 
South Florida regained control on court five as Addison Bounds and Kate Stewart delivered a 21-10, 21-18 victory to put the Bulls back in front. The clinching point came on court one, where Julia Panko and Cornelia Crudu battled through a tight opening set before pulling away 22-20, 21-13 win to secure the dual.
 
On court three, Morgan Anderson and Ryann Genest capped off the day with a gritty three-set performance. After splitting the first two sets, the pair controlled the decisive frame, winning 15-7 to close out the match. 
 
Note-A-Bulls: 
Season Sweep- The Bulls took both meetings against Mercer this season.
 
UP NEXT
South Florida will travel to Youngsville, La. next week to compete in the Conference USA Championships, April 23-25. 

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About USF Beach Volleyball
The University of South Florida Beach Volleyball program is the newest program in the now 21-team USF Athletics program. South Florida Beach Volleyball joined Conference USA on July 1, 2025. Pri Piantadosi-Lima was named South Florida's first-ever beach volleyball head coach on June 6, 2023. She also serves as the head coach of USAV Beach and the national team development program and was honored as the 2022 USA Volleyball Female Junior Coach of the Year. Before joining South Florida, Piantadosi-Lima helped launch the Eckerd College program in 2015 as an assistant coach and helped lead the program to its first AVCA national championship and two consecutive NCAA championship podium finishes.


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