Gamecocks Sweep Bulldogs in Friday Road Match

STARKVILLE, MISS. – South Carolina volleyball ran its win streak to four games with a sweep at Mississippi State Friday night, 25-21, 26-24, 25-21. The Gamecocks, now 15-8 overall and 7-4 in SEC play, were led by Mikayla Shields (15 kills, 13 digs) and Courtney Koehler (36 assists, seven digs and four kills).
 
SET ONE: Both teams were swinging well to open the night, but it would be the Gamecocks and their 19 total kills that would take it, 25-21. Mississippi State held on to a 14-13 lead early, but South Carolina was able to take control of the lead for good after a 5-0 run from there. Four different hitters had kills in the run, and an ace from Jess Vastine punctuated it. All six position players had multiple kills, led by five from Mikayla Robinson, but it was the all-around showing from Mikayla Shields that would be key. The senior had four kills without an attacking error, and added three assists, six digs and a block in the game.
 
SET TWO: The Gamecocks had to dig out of a much later deficit in the second set but were able to rally and deny a Bulldog set point in a 26-24 win for a 2-0 lead in the match thanks to more heroics from Shields. There would be 12 ties and three lead changes in the game, but the Bulldogs erased a 20-18 deficit to push ahead to 24-23. An attacking error from State denied them the set win, and the Gamecocks followed with Shields’ seventh kill of the set and an ace from Vastine to clinch the comeback. Shields accounted for over half of the team’s 12 total kills and teamed with Robinson on a pair of blocks as well.
 
SET THREE: To close out the sweep, South Carolina copied the blueprint from the opening set, using a run midway through the set to push out for a 25-21 win that clinched the match. Tied at 13, Shields spearheaded a 5-0 run that included a pair of kills and an ace for herself. Claire Edwards would complement her attack from the middle, putting away four of her eight total kills for the night in the third and Carolina finished with 15 kills in the game.
 
NOTABLE

• This is the first time since 2002 that the Gamecocks recorded four consecutive sweeps in SEC play. Since 2002, South Carolina has just one other four-game win streak in conference play, 2018, but last season’s run included just one sweep. 
• South Carolina hit .302 as a team Friday night, the fourth game in a row over .300 and ninth of the year overall.
• Mikayla Shields hit a pair of personal milestones in the second set, reaching 1,400 career kills, and moving into the top 10 for career digs in our rally-scoring era with 823. She is just the fourth member of the program to reach 1,400 kills.
• Shields also finished with a double-double of 15 kills and 13 digs, her third of the year. She now sits in sole possession of seventh place in program history for career double-doubles, at 28. Only Juliette Thévenin (2010-2013) has more over the last decade.
• With 20.5 points total (15 kills, 2.5 blocks, three aces), Shields tied her own career high for points in a three-set match. It’s the sixth-highest point total in a three-set match in the program’s rally-scoring era.
• Courtney Koehler’s 36 assists are a high for a three-set match this season. The senior is averaging 11.08 assists per set during the team’s four-game win streak.
• Addie Bryant led the team with 18 digs, pushing her two-game total vs. the Bulldogs to 37 over six sets this season. 

NEXT UP: The team remains in Mississippi for a few more days, heading north now for Oxford. The Gamecocks face Ole Miss on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET. The Rebels were hard-luck losers Friday night, falling to No. 12 Florida in five sets at home; it was the third five-set loss in a row for Ole Miss.