The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Austin Peay
UAB Knocks Off No. 20 South Carolina and North Alabama
3/21/2026 6:35:00 PM | Women's Beach Volleyball
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The UAB beach volleyball team defeated No. 20 South Carolina 3-2 on Saturday afternoon at the March to May event at the Blazer Beach Courts. The win marked UAB's second victory over a ranked opponent this season and improved the Blazers to 11-9 overall. UAB also earned a ranked win over No. 18 Washington in February at the Tiger Beach Classic in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
The Blazers secured victories on Courts 3, 4 and 5. The clinching point came on Court 3, where the duo of Olivia Chychrun and Ava Grace Knott defeated Sadie Nelson and Evie Ziffer, 21-18, 21-17.
"I'm just really proud of the girls and how they fought through adversity and responded," head coach Delaney Rose said. "It's not very often you get to play a top-20 team back-to-back, and I thought we made the adjustments we needed and put the pieces together."
The victory marked UAB's second win over South Carolina in program history and its first since 2018.
Rose credited the depth of the lineup in the decisive courts. "To get those wins at the three, four and five spots took a lot of extra grit," she said. "We had players step into the lineup, new partnerships that hadn't played together this year, and that was really impressive."
Chychrun and Knott's win on Court 3 was part of a strong weekend for the freshman Knott, who recorded three victories and is now tied for seventh in program history for most wins by a freshman in a single season with 16.
In its second match of the day, UAB defeated North Alabama 4-1, avenging an earlier loss to the Lions this season. The Blazers earned wins on Courts 1, 3, 4 and 5.
"That was a really good comeback win for us," Rose said. "They got us earlier in the season, so it was good to respond."
The Blazers used the weekend as a stepping stone as they approach the second half of the season. "We're getting to that point where we're building toward conference," Rose said. "It's not time to peak yet, but I think we took some major strides in that direction this weekend."
UAB returns to the road next weekend for the Stampede Beach Opener in Clearwater, Florida, hosted by South Florida
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