Women's Volleyball . October 25, 2024

Volleyball Hosts Auburn on Senior Day

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina volleyball will close out the month of October on Sunday, Oct. 27 with a 2 p.m. match against Auburn (14-4, 4-3 SEC) on the SEC Network+. The Gamecocks (11-6, 2-4 SEC) are looking to string together its first back-to-back wins of conference play after taking down Oklahoma in four sets in their last time out. The Sunday matchup with the Tigers will also be the team’s senior day, with a pregame ceremony to recognize seniors Oby Anadi, Morgan Carter and Claire Wilson, along with fifth-year graduate students Ellie Ruprich and Whitesides.

For fans attending home matches this week and all season long at the Carolina Volleyball Center (CVC), parking is available in the lot directly in front of Thirsty Fellow restaurant (behind 650 Lincoln Dorms). It is not advised that any parking occur in the lot facing Assembly Street as tickets could be issued. There is also a lot available off Park Street next to the Strom Thurmond Fitness Center as well as the Horizon Garage off Assembly Street.

The volleyball program now has a specific supporter group that is aimed at their most loyal fans. The funds generated through the Volleyball VIP Club will go directly to the program to support student-athletes. In addition to other benefits, membership includes free admission to all regular season home matches. Tickets can be purchased on-site or through THIS LINK.

Single-game tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for youth 17 and under, and $3 for groups of 15 or more (with pre-purchase). The physical address for the CVC is 1051 Blossom Street, Columbia, S.C. 29201. The student entrance will be the doors facing the Blossom and Assembly Street intersection, for general admission and VIP ticket holders, the entrance is off Park Street.

For continued updates on the team, follow Gamecockvolley on Twitter and GamecockVB on Instagram.

SCOUTING THE TIGERS
Auburn has hopped in and out of the national polls all season, but after three losses in its last four matches it is on the outside looking in this week. The Tigers bring a reworked roster to Columbia on Sunday, having lost three of their top five hitters, a four-year starting setter and their top two blockers from the 2023 roster. Leading the returners is preseason All-SEC outside hitter Madison Scheer, who led the team in kills last fall and is on a similar pace in 2024, and pins Bel Zimmerman and Bella Bell, who each are on pace for career years offensively.

The Tigers have found success through a well-rounded defense that out-paces the rest of the SEC. Auburn ranks first in the conference for blocks per set (2.70), digs per set (16.85) and opponent hitting percentage allowed (.171) with new faces leading the way. Baylor transfer Alexis Dacosta and freshman Lauren Dreves each have over 200 digs so far and freshmen middles Emma Moore and Grace Havlicek each average well over a block per set in their time on the court. Last fall, Auburn and South Carolina met twice and went to five sets both times. Scheer made the difference in each game, leading Auburn to wins with 19 kills on a .371 hitting percentage in the first meeting and 24 kills and a .333 percentage in the rematch two weeks later.

MENDOZA REACHES 100
The win over No. 19 Florida on Oct. 13 was head coach Tom Mendoza’s 100th at the helm of South Carolina. He is the fourth coach in program history to reach the century mark, joining Kim Williams (226 wins from 1993-04), Bonnie Kenny (171, 1984-92) and Scott Swanson (101, 2011-17). Of the 12 coaches in the program’s 51-year history, Mendoza ranks second in conference wins, fourth in road wins and first in wins over ranked opponents.

KEEPING THE STREAK ALIVE
The victory over No. 19 Florida on Sunday, Oct. 13 marked the seventh season in a row where South Carolina defeated a ranked opponent, extending the longest streak since joining the SEC in 1991. The Gamecocks have 10 wins over ranked opponents since head coach Tom Mendoza was hired in 2018. The program had just nine ranked wins total in the 27 seasons prior to his arrival (1991-2017). Prior to the win in Gainesville, the Gamecocks had not won a true road match against a nationally ranked opponent since Sept. 14, 2003 (#14 Notre Dame, 3-1). The team had never swept a ranked opponent in a true road match in the SEC era (since 1991) before Oct. 13.

WEEK EIGHT NOTABLES

Ole Miss’ seven service aces are the second-most allowed by the Gamecocks this season in a match of any length. South Carolina has allowed 13 more aces in its six losses (22 sets) than in its 11 wins (37 sets).
The Rebels finished with 12 total blocks, which is tied with Kansas in the season opener for most against the Gamecocks in a three-set match this fall. South Carolina opponents have double-digit blocks in four of its six games in SEC play.
Ole Miss keyed in on the right side attack of South Carolina, limiting Tireh Smith and Campbell Paris to just three combined kills and five attacking errors over 17 attempts.
The Gamecocks were 0-6 this season when losing the first set before Sunday’s rally against Oklahoma. Including the 2023 season, South Carolina had lost 18 games in a row when losing the opening set. It’s last win after dropping the first frame was Sept. 8 of last season, at Cincinnati.
South Carolina responded to a first set loss to the Sooners by holding them to just 10 kills and a .074 hitting percentage in set two. Oklahoma’s 13 points in set two on Sunday are the fewest allowed to a SEC opponent since Auburn on Nov. 10, 2021.
Oklahoma’s 15 service errors are the most by a Gamecock opponent so far this season. South Carolina’s eight service aces are the most by the team in SEC play and is one off the season high of nine (vs. Stetson).
Oby Anadi hit .600 with seven kills in the win over the Sooners; in the 13 matches where the senior has 10 or more total attacks, she is hitting .500 or better six times.
Anadi also led the team with four total blocks (two solo) and moved into the program’s all-time top 10 for career solo blocks (with 64), surpassing Lorri Anderson (1984-85).
Tireh Smith rebounded from an off night against Ole Miss, hitting .476 with 12 kills against the Sooners. The sophomore is hitting .330 with 2.67 kills per set through the first six matches of SEC play.
With 19 kills Sunday, Riley Whitesides now has 15 or more kills in 10 of the team’s 17 games.

WEEK EIGHT QUOTABLES: HEAD COACH TOM MENDOZA

TRENDING TOPICS
Over the last five matches…

Riley Whitesides leads the offense with 83 kills in the five games (4.61/set), shouldering a heavy workload on the left pin. Her 210 total attacks are 78 more than anyone else on the team and accounts for 35 percent of the team’s total attacks.
Tireh Smith is on a hot streak, hitting .364 with 45 total kills over the last five games, highlighted by an 18-kill night at Georgia on Oct. 11.
The team’s serving game has improved, with a 27-24 advantage in service aces. Four different Gamecocks have five or more aces, led by seven from Riley Whitesides. The team has been efficient behind the line as well, with 16 fewer service errors than its opponents.
Opponents have had success at the net defensively, out-blocking the Gamecocks 59-29 overall with notable disparities against Georgia (18-2) and Ole Miss (12-6) in this stretch.

PIPE IT UP!
One of the biggest developments in the team’s offense this season has been the effectiveness of the back-row attack from Riley Whitesides and Alayna Johnson. With the offense moving almost exclusively to a single-setter offense under Sarah Jordan, the addition of a back-row option in mostly two-hitter rotations has helped the Gamecocks after two seasons that were the lowest for hitting percentage under head coach Tom Mendoza.

In a post on Tuesday by Chad Gordon, a club coach and volleyball analytics blogger with VolleyDork.com, Whitesides was recognized as one of the most effective back-row attackers in the nation. Through 17 games, 26 percent of Whitesides’ total attacks have been from the back row. She has a kill percentage of 43.6 on those swings and an error rate of just 4.8 percent, the lowest of any of the 19 other women ranked.

It’s a compliment to the growth the fifth-year pin has enjoyed this fall. She is averaging well over a full kill per set more than her previous season high (4.44 vs. 3.11 in 2020-21), hitting more efficiently than her previous season high (.255 vs. .219 in 2020-21) and is taking over 11 swings per set, compared to her previous season high of 8.30 during the 2022 campaign.

WELL RECEIVED
The team’s serve reception defense continued a steady climb in performance, allowing just one service ace to East Carolina and Clemson in the final week of the non-conference schedule. After Kansas recorded seven aces in the season opener, the Gamecocks allowed just 15 total aces in the ensuing seven-game win streak (24 sets).

The team is benefitting from a consistent trio of passers and each have performed admirably. Left side pins Riley Whitesides (336 receptions) and Alayna Johnson (360) combine to account for 66 percent of the team’s total receptions to date, with the two being aced just 30 times in 696 total serves. For her career, Whitesides has the most serve receptions in the program’s rally-scoring era – currently with 2,501 – and has a career reception percentage of .950. Freshman libero Victoria Harris (235) accounts for the next-closest total this fall, has allowed seven aces through the first 17 games.

The passing efficiency has been a boon to the offense and improves on an uncharacteristic 2023 season. The Gamecocks allowed 1.58 aces per set to opponents last fall, by far the most allowed in head coach Tom Mendoza’s tenure (since 2018). Heading into the weekend, the aces per set allowed average was down to 1.00, and the 59 aces allowed is one behind Texas for fewest in the SEC.

SMITH EMBRACES HER OPPORTUNITY
While it is year three on campus, Tireh Smith is still a relative newcomer to the Gamecock lineup. The Charleston native took a redshirt in her freshman year, then suffered an injury to her hand in the 2023 preseason. She finally made her debut on Oct. 15 last season, playing in two sets at Texas A&M. All told, she appeared in 16 sets over eight games in 2023. After a full spring semester of training, Smith made her case for expanded role in 2024. In week one at Duke, she supplanted incumbent right side Campbell Paris on the right pin and has played in all but three of the team’s 59 sets so far this fall. So far, Smith has eight or more kills in eight games and has hit .250 or higher in seven of those eight games.

Her impact has been felt most in the early days of SEC play. Smith had a career night on the attack at Georgia on Oct. 11, finishing with a career-high 18 kills while hitting .314. Eleven of her kills came in the pivotal third and fourth sets to help the team rally back. It was the highest single-game kill total by a Gamecock right side hitter since Kiune Fletcher on Nov. 12, 2023 (18 games). She had another big day on Oct. 13 at #19 Florida, posting eight kills, hitting .412 and adding six blocks. She now is averaging 2.67 kills per set with a .330 hitting percentage through the team’s first six SEC matches.

DOUBLE TROUBLE
Few teams in the country can match the career production of Carolina’s middle blockers Oby Anadi and Ellie Ruprich. The two entered 2024 with over 700 combined blocks. Last fall, they became the first pair of Gamecocks to record 100+ total blocks in back-to-back seasons since 1995 (Heather Larkin and DeeDee Fortman) and 1996 (Larkin and Lori Drost). Going back to the earliest available statistics (1983), the program had never seen the same two individuals surpass 100 blocks in successive seasons.

SETTING THE SCENE
The team carries three setters on the roster for 2024, bringing back junior Kimmie Thompson and sophomore Sydney Floyd and adding in Towson transfer Sarah Jordan, but the team did lose Claire Wilson to a medical retirement. Jordan had success and experience running both a single-setter and two-setter offense during her career at Towson, and played almost the entire first weekend as the lone setter for Carolina. Entering the week, Jordan is averaging just under 10 assists with 9.67 per set, ranking 10th in the SEC. The Gamecocks are looking to improve the offense’s connection after back-to-back seasons flirting with a .200 team hitting percentage – the lowest two so far under head coach Tom Mendoza. Entering the weekend, the team has a .246 hitting percentage.

COMPARING WINS AND LOSSES

A diverse offense has proven key. In six losses, the trio of Alayna Johnson, Tireh Smith and Oby Anadi combine for 5.90 kills per set and a .170 hitting percentage. In 11 wins, that number jumps to 7.48 kills and a .332 hitting percentage.
While the output of Riley Whitesides has remained steady in wins (4.68 kills per set) and losses (4.05/set), her efficiency is noticeable. In 11 wins, she hits .312 but drops down to .164 in losses.
A strong start has been key, the team is 10-0 when winning the first set but is just 1-6 when losing it. Before overcoming a first-set loss to beat Oklahoma on Oct. 20, the Gamecocks had lost 18 games in a row when dropping set one.
The service line has made the difference this season, the team is 10-3 when matching or surpassing opponents in aces but are 0-3 when being out-aced. It isn’t just about aces, playing mistake-free behind the line is also key. Opponents have 36 aces and 44 errors in Gamecock losses, but just 23 aces and 109 errors in Gamecock wins.
Opponents are doubling up the Gamecocks in blocks across the six losses, with 86 total blocks compared to just 40 for South Carolina.
With the team’s blocking numbers down from year’s passed, the back line of the defense has been more important than ever. When finishing with more digs, the Gamecocks are 7-1.

A VICTORIOUS RETURN
She might have played high school volleyball just down the road from the Carolina Volleyball Center, but freshman Victoria Harris has taken the long way to collegiate volleyball. A standout libero at Cardinal Newman School, about 10 miles to the northeast of downtown Columbia, Harris had to overcome two serious injuries to make it to the next phase of her volleyball career. In September 2022, she fractured her hip during a game after a teammate landed on her. She recovered in time to play the following season, but endured another setback when she tore her ACL in August of 2023. She had surgery on her knee in October, then worked towards graduating early from high school and enrolling at South Carolina for the spring semester.

She was finally cleared for full action at the end of July and immediately jumped into an important role for the Gamecocks. Entering the week, Harris has started every game as the team’s libero and averages 4.23 digs per set, fourth-most in the SEC. Her 23 digs in the week one matchup at Duke led the defense and is the most by a Gamecock freshman since Taylr McNeil in 2014 (23 vs. Furman). If Harris retains the role for the majority of 2024, she would join current senior Morgan Carter as the only Gamecocks to play libero as true freshmen since the position was first introduced in college volleyball in 2002.

ANADI PEAKING IN SENIOR SEASON
Senior middle Oby Anadi made herself known as a blocker over her first two seasons in the lineup but was still working her way into the team’s offensive game plan. The 2023 season proved that growth, as she set career highs on offense AND defense. Anadi finished with 146 kills over 27 matches in 2023, after totaling 119 kills over her first two seasons (41 matches). On defense, she had a personal-best 129 total blocks last fall and became the first Gamecock since Belita Salters in 2007 to have a hand in 50 percent or more of the team’s total blocks. Anadi’s 313 total blocks currently ranks sixth-most in the rally scoring era.

Anadi finished the team’s seven-game September home stand with 11 kills and a .714 hitting percentage against East Carolina on Sept. 17. The senior has 10+ kills in three of those seven home games and hit .700 or higher in four of the seven. To put it in perspective, she had three games with double-digit kills through the first three seasons of her career entering 2024 (68 matches). For the season, she is hitting .402 with 112 total kills, fourth-most on the team. In the 13 matches where she has 10 or more total attacks, she has hit .500 or better six times.

WHITESIDES CARRIES 2023 MOMENTUM INTO 2024
The loss of senior Riley Whitesides to injury late last season came at an inopportune time for the Gamecocks, as the veteran pin was in the midst of one of the best stretches of her career in October 2023.

The Greenville native averaged 12.87 kills, 9.25 digs and a service ace per game in eight October matches last fall. On top of that, Whitesides averaged 3.36 kills per set in the team’s six games against ranked opponents when she was healthy. The injury forced her out of two games completely, and even after she was cleared to play she was limited to a back-row-only role in the final three games of the season, where she was unable to be part of the offense. A healthy Whitesides enjoyed a breakout season with the beach volleyball team in the spring semester, moving up to the top pairing by the end of the season and finishing with a 20-15 overall record.

Entering 2024 play, she has reached heights rarely seen by a Gamecock pin in the modern scoring era. Entering Friday, Whitesides is hitting .255 and averaging 4.44 kills per set, both are career-high paces and the 4.44 kills per set would rank her third in the program’s rally scoring era if the season ended today. Last weekend, she had 34 kills over seven sets against Ole Miss and Oklahoma and enters the matchup with Auburn just six kills away from setting a single-season personal best of 268. She reached that number in 2022, but needed 101 sets and 27 games to get there.

GAMECOCK NATION PACKS THE GYM
Few venues feature the atmosphere of the Carolina Volleyball Center, and Gamecock fans came out in record-setting numbers last fall. The team had more games with 2,000 or more fans in 2023 (5) than in the previous 49 seasons of volleyball at South Carolina combined (3) and six of the top-10 most-attended matches in program history came in the team’s first eight home games. The team broke the single-season home attendance record in 2023, welcoming in 23,114 fans, surpassing the previous record of 18,797, set during the 2018 season. Dating back to 2014, the Gamecock volleyball program is averaging at least 1,000 fans per game every season. So far in 2024, the team’s total attendance of 13,896 ranks 45th nationally and the average of 1,390 fans per game ranks 52nd nationally. In 10 home games, the team has six over-capacity crowds.

RUPRICH REACHES ANOTHER MAJOR MILESTONE
Graduate student Ellie Ruprich became just the eighth woman in program history to reach 400 career blocks last fall, she is just the third woman in the modern scoring era (since 2001) to reach 400 career blocks, joining Darian Dozier (2012-15) and Mikayla Robinson (2017-21). Among current active players, Ruprich ranks fifth across all three NCAA divisions for solo blocks and 12th for total blocks.

The Beverly Hills, Michigan native is still in the hunt of some rarely contested records. In the rally-scoring record book, Ruprich surpassed Mikayla Robinson’s solo blocks record and reached 100 for her career in the win over Temple on Sept. 6. She is the fifth Gamecock in the program’s 51-year history to reach 100 solo blocks, the last woman to do so for South Carolina was Amy Collinsworth in 1993. In the all-time record book, she ranks fourth for solo blocks, fifth in block assists and fourth in total blocks.

GETTING THE SAND OUT OF THEIR SHOES
The indoor team has three indoor-to-beach crossover athletes on the roster this fall, with each Gamecock bringing a different background. The three crossovers are the most under head coach Tom Mendoza and are the most on a roster since the 2014 season. Leading the way is Riley Whitesides, who moved from an indoor-only role to beach as her spring sport during the 2022-23 school year and broke out last season on the sand. She moved up to the top court by the end of the season and finished with a 20-15 overall record.

Jolie Cranford moves from a beach-only career to an indoor role, staying true to her roots. Cranford, a native of Colorado, played indoor exclusively until late in her high school career when the COVID-19 pandemic pushed her athletic pursuits outdoors. Now two seasons into her beach career, she enters 2023-24 as the team’s winningest player on the active roster, holding a career mark of 41-21 through two seasons.

The final crossover athlete is Maggie Elliott. Originally committed to Florida State as both an indoor and beach athlete, the Charleston native opted to stay in-state for her collegiate career. As an indoor volleyball athlete, she played for her mother, Adria, and led her high school team in kills for all four years on the varsity roster.

HIGHS AND LOWS AT THE NET
A typical strong point for the Gamecocks, the team’s blocking defense has had a slower start than usual in 2024. Only three players, starting middles Oby Anadi and Ellie Ruprich and right side Tireh Smith, are over 25 total blocks through the team’s 17 games to date. As a team, South Carolina has fallen back to ninth in the SEC for blocks per set and 154th nationally.

South Carolina finished fourth in the SEC with an average of 2.46 blocks per set last fall. For as good as the Gamecock block was, however, opponents were better. South Carolina opponents averaged 2.75 blocks per set when facing the Gamecocks, far and away the most in the SEC. The team allowed 10 or more blocks in 16 of its 27 games overall and nine of 18 conference games. The 2.75 blocks per set against them is the the highest single-season average for Gamecock opponents in the rally-scoring era (since 2001).

That number remains high in 2024, currently South Carolina has been blocked more per set (2.84) than any over SEC school and the 167.5 total blocks against them is second in the conference.

STATUS QUO IN THE CLASSROOM
The program improved its streak to 15 seasons in a row earning the AVCA’s Team Academic Award, announced on July 17. The Gamecocks have put 10 or more individuals on the SEC’s Fall Academic Honor Roll for eight seasons in a row and placed 16 members on either the Fall or First-Year Academic Honor Rolls in the 2023-24 school year. This comes despite an ambitious list of majors that spans the world-renowned business school, sports science fields and education.

MENDOZA’S TRENDING TOPICS
In Head Coach Tom Mendoza’s tenure with the team…

Home is where the heart is. The Gamecocks are 64-28 (.707) at the Carolina Volleyball Center in Mendoza’s seven seasons.
September is the team’s best month, combining for a 41-18 mark. The highlight came in 2018 with a perfect 9-0 record in September, the first Gamecock squad since 1983 to do so.
The team is 83-13 when winning the first set, 18-68 when losing it.
In five-set matches, the team holds an 24-15 record. In the three years prior to his arrival, the Gamecocks were just 7-8 in five-setters.
The offense finished with a higher hitting percentage than its opponents 102 times and have lost just nine of those matches.
Aces have been a key to victory; under Mendoza the Gamecocks are 77-19 when matching or surpassing opponents in aces.
If the back line is locked in, the odds swing heavily in South Carolina’s favor; the team has a 55-12 record when finishing with more digs in a match since Mendoza arrived in 2018.

ALL TIME RECORDS

South Carolina holds an 888-706 (.557) all-time record, dating back to it’s first season as a varsity sport in 1974. The team’s 800th win came on Aug. 25, 2018 against Clemson.
The Gamecocks joined the SEC for volleyball in 1991, and have an all-time conference record of 236-327 (.420) in the 31st season as a member. The 200th SEC win came on Nov. 8, 2019 at Mississippi St.
Dating back to 1983, the team has a 37-5 record in its home opener and a 24-18 record in its road opener.
The team has a 17-17 overall record in the opening game of SEC play.
In matches in the Carolina Volleyball Center, opened in 1996, Carolina is 254-139 (.645) overall and 129-119 (.525) in SEC matches. The CVC’s 250th win came on Sept. 10, 2024 against the College of Charleston.
Tom Mendoza was introduced as the program’s 13th head coach on Jan. 3, 2018. This is his ninth season overall as a head coach, with a career record of 148-102 and a record of 101-84 at South Carolina. He has led his teams to the NCAA tournament in five of his eight years as a head coach and is just the fourth coach in South Carolina’s history to reach 100 career wins.