Gamecocks Defeat No. 23 Rice for Second Ranked Win of the Weekend

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Less than 24 hours removed from starting its season with a five-set upset win against No. 18 Washington State, South Carolina volleyball notched its second ranked win in as many days with a 3-1 victory against No. 23 Rice (0-2) Saturday morning (26-24, 14-25, 25-23, 25-20). The Gamecocks (2-0) were led by freshman Lauren McCutcheon’s 15 kills, while senior Mikayla Robinson hit .348 with 12 kills and collected her second milestone in as many games.
 
With her first kill of the match Robinson recorded her 1,000th career kill. She is the 16th Gamecock to reach the milestone and she joins an exclusive group of four Gamecocks in the program’s 49-year history to have 1,000 career kills and at least 400 career blocks. The last individual to reach both was current hall of famer Heather Larkin (1994-97).
 
Dating back to the starting of top-25 polls in 1982, South Carolina has beaten ranked opponents in back-to-back opportunities just two times; the only other time being Sept. 7 and Sept. 14 in the 2002 season. Counting last season’s two wins against ranked opponents, the Gamecocks are now 4-1 in their last five games against top-25 teams. 
 
SET ONE: Rice finished the first set with a higher hitting percentage and five more kills than South Carolina, but the Gamecocks were able to grind out a 26-24 win to start the match. The team took an early 8-4 lead and were able to nurse it along until late in the set, when the Owls used a 4-1 run to swing the score in their favor at 22-20. McCutcheon’s second service ace of the set highlighted a 4-1 run from there for Carolina, and the team was able to clinch the win with a block from Robinson and Riley Whitesides on the final point.
 
SET TWO: The Owls were stifling on defense in set two, rallying back for a 25-14 win that was powered by five total blocks and three aces on serve. The visitors needed just nine kills in the set, limiting South Carolina to seven kills opposed to 11 attack errors.
 
SET THREE: The third set would be hotly contested as both teams fought for the key set advantage. The two traded leads, but a McCutcheon-led 4-0 run late made the difference in a 25-23 score. With the game tied at 19, McCutcheon chipped in a pair of kills in the run that made it 23-19 and then teamed with Robinson for the game-clinching point on a block to end the set. 
 
SET FOUR: The Gamecock offense saved their best performance of the morning for the clinching game, hitting .441 with 20 kills to close the match with a 25-20 win. Carolina built a comfortable lead early and weathered a comeback attempt from Rice, when the Owls cut their deficit to 22-20 before the home side scored the final three points unanswered.

UP NEXT: The opening weekend wraps up with the team’s toughest test yet – a showdown with No. 9 Pittsburgh (2-0). The Panthers defeated Rice in five sets and Washington State in four sets. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday night, the game will air on the SEC Network+.