LSU Defeats South Carolina in Sunday Match

BATON ROUGE, LA. – LSU finished a series sweep of South Carolina Sunday afternoon, winning in three sets (27-25, 25-22, 25-19). The Gamecocks move to 12-8 in SEC play with one scheduled series remain for the 2020-21 season. 
 
SET ONE: The two teams came out swinging to open the match, neither side committed a single attack error for the first 28 combined points of the set. The Tigers held a modest lead through the start, but a trio of unforced errors for the home side would see the Gamecocks pull ahead at 16-15. South Carolina’s offense did not see its first error until its 22^nd swing of the game, but with an equally efficient LSU offense to counter it would not be able to capitalize on that success. The Tigers used a late 3-0 run to turn a 19-18 lead into a commanding advantage, but the Gamecocks rallied again to tie the score at 24. South Carolina was able to get a set point opportunity at 25-24, but LSU put down three consecutive kills for the 27-25 win.
 
SET TWO: Four unforced errors from the Gamecocks at the start of set two forced a quick timeout to regroup, but that early daylight was just enough for LSU as the home side played the Gamecocks even the rest of the way in a 25-22 score. South Carolina pulled within one, 8-7, but would not hold the lead after scoring the opening point of the set. 
 
SET THREE: Neither offense would have an efficient final game, but the Tigers were able to benefit from Gamecock miscues in a 25-19 score to close the match. South Carolina committed eight unforced attacking errors and added five service aces and allowed LSU to lead wire-to-wire. Whitesides led the team with five more kills to push her to 13 total in the match.
 
UP NEXT
One more weekend currently remains on the team’s schedule for the 2020-21 season. Another road trip awaits South Carolina, and a battle for position in the SEC standings is in store when the Gamecocks face Arkansas next Friday and Saturday. Both matches in Fayetteville will have an 8 p.m. ET start.