Trouble in the sand: sand volleyball team struggles in Florida

Rhett Lewis | THE SIGNAL In its second season, the sand volleyball team was able to earn a AVCA top 10 ranking.

The Georgia State sand volleyball team  lost three out of four matches on Saturday.

The team competed in the Florida International Tournament in South Beach, Fla..

The Panthers lost to Pepperdine 5-0 to start the day.

Georgia State’s No. 1 pair, Lane Carico and Katie Madewell, lost their first match of the season.

Pepperdine is the No. 1 ranked sand volleyball team in the country according to the AVCA Top 10 poll.

The day only got worse for the Panthers as they lost to Florida International, 4-1. The No. 4 duo of Alexis Elmurr and Molly Smestad were the sole victors,  winning 15-21, 21-11, 15-12.

The Panthers were able to get a team victory over Florida Atlantic winning 3-2, but dropped the final match of the day to Tulane 1-4.

The Panthers’ record dropped to 5-6 for this season.

The Panthers next match is at home, April 6 and 7, for the Georgia State Sand Invitational.