Volleyball Loses in Three to No. 22 Tennessee

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina fell in three sets to No. 22 Tennessee Saturday, 25-22, 25-20, 25-17. The Gamecocks now stand at 3-3 in the SEC and 11-5 overall, the Volunteers improve to 14-3 and 6-1 in conference action. Riley Whitesides led the team with 13 kills, matching a season best for the sophomore.
 
SET ONE: Both teams had strong offensive numbers to open the match, but Tennessee got a key run early and were able to carry it to a 25-22 final. Out of a 3-3 score, the Volunteers scored six of the next seven points, four coming off a pair of blocks and two unforced errors for South Carolina. The Gamecocks had a chance to flip the score back in their favor after a service ace for Ellie Ruprich made it a 16-15 score in Tennessee’s favor, but the visitors called for a timeout and would score four points in a row following the break to put a comeback out of reach.
 
SET TWO: The two sides traded runs early to begin the second, but it would be the Gamecocks that were the first to 15 points and they held a 15-12 advantage. The Volunteers countered with a pair of serving runs that saw them score a 10-3 run and flip the score back in their favor and it would carry for a 25-20 final score. Three different hitters recorded three or more kills for Carolina, led by four from Whitesides.
 
SET THREE: South Carolina made a big push early to try and extend the match, running out to a 5-1 lead behind a pair of Whitesides kills and a solo block from Ruprich. Again, Tennessee would answer the early pressure with a methodical effort behind the service line, keeping the Gamecock offense out of system and recording three aces late in a 25-17 score to clinch the sweep. The Volunteers out-hit South Carolina .414 to .233, with Whitesides’ five kills accounting for the majority of the team’s 13 total kills. Along with its three late aces Tennessee also had a game-high three blocks and finished the set on a 10-3 run.
 
NOTABLE

• Riley Whitesides’ 13 kills is tied for a season high, last coming in the season opener against Washington State. The sophomore also hit .391 in the game, her best of the year, giving her three games in a row with 10 or more kills and a hitting percentage over .300.
• Tennessee hit .376 for the match, the highest percentage given up by the Gamecocks this season and highest by any opponent since Kentucky hit .418 on Nov. 15, 2019. Only two opponents have even cracked .300 so far in 16 games, the other being Santa Clara. 
• Kyla Manning saw her 10-game streak of double-digit kills snapped Saturday, as she finished with eight kills with a .261 hitting percentage.
• With her 23.5 points scored in the two games, Mikayla Robinson vaulted up to eighth in program history for career points scored, now with 1406.5. She surpassed Kim DeNeve (1986-89) Saturday.
• Robinson also moved into the program’s career kills top 10 list as well, passing Berna Dwyer (1999-02) to stand with 1,121 in her time as a Gamecock.

QUOTABLE
Head coach Tom Mendoza on the loss
Similar to yesterday, there were large stretches where we played good volleyball and I didn’t think we were able to affect them as well as much as we did yesterday. There was plenty of good stuff I think against a different opponent or if we play a little bit better, I think we could come out with a win with the way we attacked the ball, but we weren’t able to slow them down. I thought they looked like a little bit more focused team and I’m not sure what the reason is, but we’re going to try to improve it and find solutions to it. 
 
UP NEXT
The Gamecocks have only one game on the schedule for next week, traveling to Starkville on Wednesday to face Mississippi State. First serve with the Bulldogs is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET and will air on the SEC Network+.