CLEVELAND, Ga. – The LaGrange College beach volleyball team opened their 2026 season by going 2-1 at the TMU Invitational hosted by Truett-McConnell University at TMU Beach Volleyball Complex in Cleveland, Georgia this past weekend, falling short to the host Bears, 3-0 on Friday before pulling out 3-0 wins over Spartanburg Methodist College and Florida Memorial University.
RESULTS
- First against the Bears of Truett-McConnell University on Friday, the Panthers took a narrow loss at position two as the duo of sophomore Isabella Zentkovich (Sharpsburg, Ga.) and freshman Kaitlyn Smith (Buckeye, Ariz.) came up just short 21-17, 17-21, 15-6. At position three, the team of sophomore Akajah Burton (West Valley City, Utah) and freshman Jasmine Gross (Antioch, Tenn.) lost 21-19, 22-20 in two of the closest sets of the day. At the four spot, sophomore Kaitlin Gilchrist (Pelham, Ala.) and freshman Danika Durham (Parker, Ariz.) lost 21-18, 22-20.
- Facing Spartanburg Methodist on Saturday, Zentkovich and Smith won the number two spot, 21-11, 21-14, while Burton and Gross prevailed at number three, 21-10, 21-18. The Panthers took the match with a forfeit at position five for their match victory of the season.
- Finally, against Florida Methodist, Zentkovich and Smith won the number two spot, 21-10, 21-19. Gilchrist and Durham prevailed at the four spot, 21-15, 21-15. Finally, freshman Emerson Melvin (Hahira, Ga.) and freshman Riley Curtis (Labelle, Fla.) won at number five, 21-7, 21-13.
UP NEXT
- LaGrange is back on the sand on Thursday and Saturday when they travel to Huntingdon College for the Huntingdon Tournament.
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