Women's Volleyball . November 21, 2024

Gamecocks Hit the Road for Penultimate Weekend of Regular Season

TUSCALOOSA, ALA. – South Carolina volleyball closes up a five-game road stretch with two more trips this weekend. The Gamecocks (14-9, 5-7 SEC) play at Alabama (10-13, 3-11 SEC) on Friday, Nov. 22 at 7 p.m. ET, then have a road rematch with Tennessee (13-10, 6-7) on Sunday at 2 p.m. on the SEC Network.

SCOUTING THE CRIMSON TIDE
Alabama is looking to finish its 2024 season strong, riding a five-game home stand to the end of the fall. Last weekend, the Tide defeated Mississippi State in five sets and lost in three to Texas on Sunday, Nov. 17. The offense has turned itself over to a pair of veteran transfers on the pins, Sophie Agee (Mississippi State) and Paris Thompson (Notre Dame) are responsible for half of the Alabama offense, with Agee’s 3.31 kills per set leading the way. Senior libero Francesca Bertucci leads the defense with 4.30 digs per set, fourth-best in the SEC, but Alabama comes into the week ranked last in the conference for opponent hitting percentage allowed.

SCOUTING THE LADY VOLS
Tennessee enters the penultimate weekend of the regular season with a 6-7 record in SEC play and 13-10 overall. In the three weeks since last facing South Carolina (Nov. 3), the team has picked up important wins against LSU and Texas A&M on its home court but most recently gave up a 2-1 set advantage and lost in five sets to Georgia on Nov. 15. The Lady Vols returned just two starters from 2023’s squad that reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament. The biggest returner is sophomore Caroline Kerr, the setter made AVCA preseason player of the year watch list after earning a spot on the All-SEC team in 2023 following a breakout first year running the offense. Despite losing its top three contributors for kills, Tennessee still ranks 17th nationally for team hitting percentage this fall with a .278 mark.

Like South Carolina, Tennessee turned to Towson University for a key transfer; where the Gamecocks pulled current starting setter Sarah Jordan, the Vols pulled in pin Nina Cajic to fill the gap in production. She currently ranks 8th in the SEC for kills and broke the SEC modern-era record for kills in a match earlier this season with 42 against Western Michigan on Sept. 19. Cajic has been the team’s clear go-to option on offense, accounting for just under 35 percent of the team’s total swings. For as good as the offense has been, the achilles heel for Tennessee is its defense. Entering the week, the team ranks 14th in the SEC for opponent hitting percentage, allowing a .245 mark.

WEEK 12 NOTABLES (AT LSU)

The Wednesday night victory at LSU snapped a six-game losing streak to the Tigers. It is just the second win in Baton Rouge in the last two decades; the most recent win before Wednesday came in 2016.
Junior Alayna Johnson missed the LSU match with an undisclosed injury, it is her first time this season out of the lineup. The Kershaw, S.C. native entered the week ranked second on the team in kills and service aces.
Sophomore Campbell Paris started in Johnson’s place, her last start this season came in the opening weekend against Colgate (Aug 31). It was Paris’ first career start on the left pin, where she played for the majority of her time at the high school and club level.
Paris responded with her best game of the season, putting away 15 kills on a .333 hitting percentage. Her previous best was eight in a five-set match at Georgia on Oct. 11. It was a night to remember for Whitesides, her 30 kills are the most by any Gamecock since Sept. 6, 2013 (vs. Clemson). The last Gamecock with 30+ kills against a SEC opponent was Shonda Cole on Oct. 1, 2006 (vs. Alabama)
It wasn’t just Whitesides’ kill total that impressed, it was also her efficiency. Over a career-high 66 swings, she had just six errors, good for a .364 hitting percentage. It snapped a five-game stretch where her hitting percentage was just .161.
Setter Sarah Jordan had her best night to date as a Gamecock, passing out 66 assists while guiding the offense to a .343 hitting percentage and 75 kills, the most by the team since Nov. 11, 2007 (82 vs. Tennessee). It is a rally-scoring era record for most assists in a match of any length, surpassing Megan Hosp’s 65 against North Carolina on Dec. 6, 2002. The last Gamecock with more was Hosp during the sideout-scoring era, with 72 against Arkansas on Sept. 24, 2000.
South Carolina’s .343 hitting percentage is the second-highest for a five-set match in program history, behind only a .357 percentage against Arkansas on Nov. 23, 2012.
After averaging five digs per set over two matches last weekend, Victoria Harris had another solid match on Wednesday. The freshman libero had 27 digs, her fourth game with 20+ this fall. She is tied with five other Gamecocks for the fifth-most 20-digs matches in a single season since 1993.
Brooke Doherty was also pressed into service with Johnson out, working across the back row as a passer. She had five digs, a service ace and a kill while not making any errors in serve-receive.
The Gamecock offense erupted after cleaning up their errors on serve; the team had nine service errors in sets one and two, but just two more over the final three sets.
Ellie Ruprich provided the team with key scoring through the middle, recording a season-high seven kills to go with six blocks and a service ace. She is the tenth different Gamecock to record an ace so far this season.

RUPRICH REACHES ANOTHER MAJOR MILESTONE
Graduate student Ellie Ruprich joined one of the most exclusive clubs in program history on Sunday, Nov. 3, reaching 500 career blocks after recording four in the three-set win over Tennessee. The Beverly Hills, Michigan native passed Mikayla Robinson (496 blocks from 2017-21) for the rally-scoring era record in career blocks in set one against the Lady Vols, then reached 500 with a set-clinching stuff in a 29-27 victory in set two.

The last Gamecock to reach 500 blocks was Stephanie Pflughaupt (1986-89) during the 1988 season. She and Lori Rowe (641 blocks from 1983-86) were the only two members of the 500-blocks club prior to Ruprich. Currently, across all three divisions in NCAA volleyball, Ruprich is one of only 14 women who have reached 500 total blocks. Among Power Four conference athletes, she is one of six, joining CC Crawford (Wisconsin), Phoebe Awoleye (Minnesota), Raven Colvin (Purdue), Taylor Trammell (Penn St.), Leyla Blackwell (Nebraska) and Julia Haggerty (Boston College).

Diving further into the numbers, Ruprich ranks second among all current Division I athletes in solo blocks, with 116. She has either led or tied for the team lead in blocks in 64 of her 128 career games played and has five or more blocks in 45 games.

TRENDING TOPICS
Over the last five matches…

Riley Whitesides leads the offense with 75 kills in the five games (4.41/set), shouldering a heavy workload on the left pin. Her 223 total attacks are 140 more than anyone else on the team and accounts for 39 percent of the team’s total attacks.
The offense is hitting just .193 in the last five games; no attacker with 20 or more kills has a hitting percentage higher than .242.
Opponents hold a 23-14 advantage in service aces over these last five games, thanks in large part to 12-1 disparity in the loss to Kentucky.
Opponents have had success on the back line, averaging over 15 digs per set to go along with a 39.5-34 advantage in blocks.

WELL RECEIVED
The team’s serve reception defense has been a bright spot for the season, coming into this week ranked second in the SEC for fewest service aces allowed. The team is benefitting from a consistent trio of passers and each have performed admirably. Left side pins Riley Whitesides (471 receptions) and Alayna Johnson (506) combine to account for 66 percent of the team’s total receptions to date, with the two being aced 51 times in 977 total serves. For her career, Whitesides has the most serve receptions in the program’s rally-scoring era – currently with 2,636 – and has a career reception percentage of .950. Freshman libero Victoria Harris (298) accounts for the next-closest total this fall, has allowed 10 aces through the first 23 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 is down to 1.09.

COMPARING WINS AND LOSSES

The service line has made all the difference this season, the team is 13-3 when matching or surpassing opponents in aces but are 0-7 when being out-aced. It isn’t just about aces, playing mistake-free behind the line is also key. Opponents have 56 aces and 72 errors in nine Gamecock losses, but just 31 aces and 140 errors in 14 Gamecock wins.
A diverse offense has proven key. In seven losses, the trio of Alayna Johnson, Tireh Smith and Oby Anadi combine for 5.79 kills per set and a .154 hitting percentage. In 14 wins, that number jumps to 7.02 kills and a .310 hitting percentage.
While the output of Riley Whitesides has remained steady in wins (4.71 kills per set) and losses (3.94/set), her efficiency is noticeable. In wins, she hits .304 but drops down to .153 in losses.
A strong start has been key, the team is 12-0 when winning the first set but is just 2-8 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.
Opponents are doubling up the Gamecocks in blocks across the nine losses, with 112 total blocks compared to just 55 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 9-1.

BE YOUR BEST BY BEATING YOUR BEST
For as big of a jump as Riley Whitesides has enjoyed this fall, a handful of her teammates have also racked up a number of new personal bests with seven games remaining on the schedule. Junior Alayna Johnson surpassed her career high for kills in a season during the Oklahoma win on Oct. 20, needing seven fewer games to reach her 2023 total of 166. She also has doubled up her service ace total from 2023 (10) to 2024 (21) and passed her single-season dig high on Oct. 11 at Georgia in 10 fewer games than she needed in 2023.

Two second-year contributors have also been key. Tireh Smith went from nine kills over eight games in 2023 to 159 so far this fall. Liz McElveen expanded her role from a serving sub as a freshman in 2023 to a back-row defensive specialist this season, she currently ranks second on the team in service aces and fifth in digs.

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 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 4.18 digs per set, fifth-most in the SEC, with a .966 serve reception percentage over 298 total receptions. Her 23 digs in the week one matchup at Duke led the defense and was the most by a Gamecock freshman since Taylr McNeil in 2014 (23 vs. Furman). Since then, she has three more 20-dig games, with a highlight of 27 digs in a five-set win at LSU on Nov. 13. It is the ninth-highest single-game total in the rally-scoring era and most by a freshman. The last Gamecock to have 25 digs in a match as a freshman was Hannah Lawing on Oct. 28, 2007. She has four 20-dig games this fall, something not done by a Gamecock freshman since the program joined the SEC in 1991. The big performance also helped set a season milestone, as she surpassed Aubrey Ezell’s 2015 total of 309 as the most digs in a freshman season in the rally-scoring era.

Harris joins 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.

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. 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 healthier Whitesides enjoyed a breakout season with the beach volleyball team in the 2024 spring semester, moving up to the top pairing by the end of the season and finishing with a 20-15 overall record.

In 2024, she has reached heights rarely seen by a Gamecock attacker. Entering the weekend, Whitesides is hitting .243 and averaging 4.41 kills per set, both are career-high paces and the 4.41 kills per set would rank her third in the program’s 51-season history if the season ended today. She set a new single-season high for kills in a win over Auburn on Oct. 16, breaking her previous high of 268 in 2022, but she needed 38 fewer sets and nine fewer matches to get there.

Arguably her best night as a Gamecock came when the team needed her most. In the comeback win at LSU on Nov. 13, Whitesides’ 30 kills led the team and were the most by any Gamecock against a SEC opponent was Shonda Cole on Oct. 1, 2006 (vs. Alabama). It wasn’t just Whitesides’ kill total that impressed, it was also her efficiency. Over a career-high 66 swings, she had just six errors, good for a .364 hitting percentage.

SAVING THE DRAMA
For better or worse, South Carolina has had an efficient fall so far. The team has only played beyond three sets nine times in 24 games and are at 80 sets played with four games remaining in the regular season. Outside of the adjusted 2020-21 season, the fewest sets played in a single season by the Gamecocks is 92, over the 26-game 2001 season. So far this season, the team is 8-6 in three-set matches, 5-2 in four-set matches and 1-1 in five sets. It was 14th game of the season before South Carolina finally went to five sets, the latest into a season the Gamecocks have played before going the distance since at least 1983 (the first season where fully vetted record-keeping is available).

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, totaling 1,500 assists, 400 digs and 45 service aces in 56 games played with the Tigers.

Entering the weekend, Jordan is averaging 9.73 assists per set, ranking 9th in the SEC. The junior from Leesburg, Va. had her best night to date as a Gamecock in the Nov. 13 comeback win at LSU, passing out 66 assists while guiding the offense to a .343 hitting percentage over five sets. It is a rally-scoring era record for most assists in a match of any length, surpassing Megan Hosp’s 65 against North Carolina on Dec. 6, 2002. The last Gamecock with more was Hosp during the sideout-scoring era, with 72 against Arkansas on Sept. 24, 2000. Jordan is the first Carolina setter to go over 60 assists in a match since Courtney Koehler in the first round of the 2018 NCAA tournament against Colorado (Nov. 30, 2018). South Carolina’s .343 hitting percentage is the second-highest for a five-set match in program history, behind only a .357 percentage against Arkansas on Nov. 23, 2012.

The Gamecocks were 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 Wednesday, the team has a .227 hitting percentage.

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.

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.

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 16,996 ranks 52nd nationally and the average of 1,307 fans per game ranks 56th nationally, with all but one of the 55 teams ahead of them playing in a larger venue. In 13 home games, the team has seven over-capacity crowds.

HIGHS AND LOWS AT THE NET
A typical strong point for the Gamecocks, the team’s blocking defense has taken a dip in 2024. Only three players, starting middles Oby Anadi and Ellie Ruprich and right side Tireh Smith, are over 30 total blocks through the team’s 24 games to date. As a team, South Carolina has fallen back to 9th in the SEC for blocks per set and 169th 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 overall (222.5 total blocks) and per set (2.78) than any other SEC school. Six of the 12 SEC opponents faced by the Gamecocks so far this fall have gone for double-digit blocks, compared to just two double-digit block games for Carolina.

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 66-29 (.695) 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 85-13 when winning the first set, 19-71 when losing it.
In five-set matches, the team holds an 25-15 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 103 times and have lost just nine of those matches.
Aces have been a key to victory; under Mendoza the Gamecocks are 80-19 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 57-12 record when finishing with more digs in a match since Mendoza arrived in 2018.

ALL TIME RECORDS

South Carolina holds an 891-709 (.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 239-330 (.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 256-140 (.645) overall and 131-120 (.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 151-105 and a record of 104-87 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.