Women's Volleyball . August 31, 2024

Gamecocks Brush Off Colgate for First Win

DURHAM, N.C. – South Carolina volleyball picked up its first win of the season in convincing fashion Saturday afternoon, sweeping Colgate (0-2) on day two of its weekend tournament at Duke. Riley Whitesides and Alayna Johnson each scored 12 points to lead the offense and Ellie Ruprich’s six total blocks helped the defense limit the Raiders to a .096 hitting percentage in the match.

1^st SET: The team leaned on its veteran arms to take the opening game, as Alayna Johnson and Riley Whitesides combined for 10 of the team’s 13 kills in a 25-20 win. The Gamecocks (1-1) led for the entire set, running out to an 8-2 lead early after an Elizabeth McElveen service ace and Colgate would call for a timeout. Out of the break, the Raiders did rally back and cut the Carolina lead to one, 11-10, to induce a timeout from the Gamecocks. It would be their turn to answer the run, scoring the first five points out of the timeout – highlighted by two service aces from Johnson – to take an extended lead to the end in a 25-20 final.

2^nd SET: Whitesides stepped up another level in set two, putting away seven kills on just 12 swings as the Gamecocks would again lead wire-to-wire in a 25-18 win and a 2-0 lead. Out of a 4-all tie early, McElveen’s serve helped South Carolina break away with four unanswered points that included a pair of kills from Oby Anadi. Colgate would get no closer than three points the rest of the way, South Carolina’s defense penned in the Raiders’ offense, allowing just a .086 hitting percentage. Ellie Ruprich led the defense at the net, notching a solo block and assisting on another.

3^rd SET: The defense took the team home in the third, holding Colgate to a game-low nine kills on the way to a 25-13 victory and the sweep. The Raiders would commit as many errors on the attack as they would have kills, forced in part by three more blocks for the Gamecocks. Tireh Smith would have a hand in all three blocks, also adding a team-high four kills. South Carolina started the set on a 6-0 run and would extend the advantage to as much as 12, pushing ahead 20-8 late and closing with a kill from sophomore Brooke Doherty, her first as a Gamecock.

NOTABLE

The Gamecocks did not trail for a single point on Saturday, the match also featured only three ties.
Ellie Ruprich moved into the top 10 for most sets played in the rally scoring era (since 2001), now with 391 for her career.
Tireh Smith stepped into the lineup late in the first set and finished with career highs in kills (7) and blocks (4) while hitting .400.
Sophomore defensive specialist Elizabeth McElveen dropped in the first two aces of her collegiate career on Saturday, also adding six digs and an assist. Through the first two matches of the season, the Rock Hill native has matched her dig total from her entire freshman season (31 sets) with 13 digs in six sets.
Along with eight kills, junior Alayna Johnson added two service aces, five digs, two blocks and an assist.
Brooke Doherty, playing just 30 minutes from her hometown of Holly Springs, recorded her first kill as a Gamecock to clinch the win in set three. Doherty sat out last season as a transfer, in her 2022 freshman season at Elon she recorded 112 kills in 55 sets.

UP NEXT: The opening weekend in Durham closes out on Sunday against the tournament host, Duke. Coverage on the ACCNx online stream begins at 2 p.m. The Blue Devils defeated Colgate in five sets on Friday and play No. 13 Kansas on Saturday. Sunday will be just the sixth meeting since the turn of the millennium. The Gamecocks won in Cameron Indoor in the last meeting, September 2017, which was the first win at Duke since 1988 for South Carolina.

NOTABLE

The Gamecocks did not trail for a single point on Saturday, the match also featured only three ties.
Ellie Ruprich moved into the top 10 for most sets played in the rally scoring era (since 2001), now with 391 for her career.
Tireh Smith stepped into the lineup late in the first set and finished with career highs in kills (7) and blocks (4) while hitting .400.
Sophomore defensive specialist Elizabeth McElveen dropped in the first two aces of her collegiate career on Saturday, also adding six digs and an assist. Through the first two matches of the season, the Rock Hill native has matched her dig total from her entire freshman season (31 sets) with 13 digs in six sets.
Along with eight kills, junior Alayna Johnson added two service aces, five digs, two blocks and an assist.
Brooke Doherty, playing just 30 minutes from her hometown of Holly Springs, recorded her first kill as a Gamecock to clinch the win in set three. Doherty sat out last season as a transfer, in her 2022 freshman season at Elon she recorded 112 kills in 55 sets.