Volleyball Drops Tournament Opener to No. 23 Dayton
WACO, TEXAS – South Carolina volleyball lost its NCAA tournament first round match in four sets to No. 23 Dayton (30-2) on Thursday night in the Waco sub-regional. Riley Whitesides ended her career on a record-setting note, her 22 kills are a NCAA tournament record for the program, for a match of any length. The Gamecocks finish the season with a 16-12 overall record.
1st SET: Two sides battling with long rallies to start, Whitesides had four kills in the team’s first eight points. Gamecocks held 10-9 lead early, but Dayton scored six of the next eight points to flip the score. Dayton led 15-12 at the first break thanks to a three-point advantage behind the service line and were able to limit the Gamecock scoring runs down the stretch in a 25-20 win. Service errors would ultimately be the key, the Gamecocks had four more than the Flyers and it slowed the team’s chances at a momentum-shifting run. Following a 3-0 run to take a 5-3 lead early, the Gamecocks did not score consecutive points again for the remainder of the set.
2nd SET: The serving game got Dayton off to another strong start in the second, the Flyers scored seven of their first 11 points off four aces and two service errors for the Gamecocks, forcing early timeouts for Carolina. Dayton would finish with five aces, and four more service errors for the Gamecocks would keep the lead comfortable for the Flyers in a 25-15 win to take the two-set advantage.
3rd SET: Now in must-win mode, the Gamecocks got off to a strong start in the third. Carolina played clean on offense, out-hitting Dayton .600 to .182 on the way to a 13-8 lead to force a timeout from the Flyers. After a quiet second set, Whitesides scored four of those 13 points off kills and got offensive contributions from four other teammates in the run. The Flyers answered back after their called timeout, stringing together two separate 3-0 runs and a 4-0 run to eventually push back ahead at 19-17. South Carolina would tie the score up at 20, 22 and 23, then Whitesides came through in the clutch with a service ace to get the team a set-point opportunity. The Flyers were able to deny the first attempt, but Whitesides would put away her seventh kill of the set and the Gamecocks used a Dayton attack error to close out the 26-24 win.
4th SET: Dayton’s offense came out hot in the fourth, breaking the game open with eight kills on its first 19 swings. The Flyers used an 12-0 scoring run to turn a 7-5 advantage into a double-digit lead and rode it the rest of the way in a 25-10 victory. Dayton finished the fourth with a 17-8 advantage in kills and hit .405 as a team.
NOTABLE
- Victoria Harris led the defense with 15 digs, she jumped Mikaela Christiaansen’s 2013 total 386 to move into the rally-scoring era top 10 for most digs in a single season. Harris is the lone freshman in the top 10.
- Riley Whitesides led the team in kills for the 25th time this season, her 22 kills moved her past Mikayla Shields’ 2017 total of 429 for the fourth-most in a single season in the rally-scoring era. The last Gamecock with more kills than Whitesides this season was Juliette Thévenin in 2013 (466). Whitesides’ 23.5 also helped her pass Shields on the single-season points top-10 list, surpassing her 2019 total of 484.5.
- Whitesides also joined an exclusive club in the third set, her service ace to set up set point at 24-23 was the 100th of her career. She joins Aubrey Ezell (212 from 2015-18) as the only two Gamecocks with 100 aces in the rally-scoring era.
- It was Whitesides’ sixth career 20-kill match and the fourth this season. She is the 11th Gamecock in the SEC era (since 1991) with four in a season, and she ties Dessaa Legros (2013-16) and Heather Larkin (1994-97) for seventh-most in a career.
- Elizabeth McElveen recorded her third double-digit dig match of the season, the first since Sept. 15 against Wake Forest, finishing the night with 11.
- Oby Anadi led the team with five blocks to go with her four kills. Her 363 career blocks is good for seventh in the program’s 51-year history.
- After making a 3-0 run to take a 5-3 lead in set one, the Gamecocks didn’t score consecutive points again until it was a 14-7 Dayton lead in set two.
- The Gamecocks finished the night with 12 more service errors and seven fewer service aces than Dayton. The 19 service errors are the second-most by the team this season and the 11 aces allowed is also the second-most.
UP NEXT: The Gamecocks head into the spring training season, graduating three starters from tonight’s match in Whitesides, Oby Anadi and Ellie Ruprich. The team returns eight women who played in the game, four in the starting lineup: rising seniors Sarah Jordan and Alayna Johnson, and breakout contributors Tireh Smith and Victoria Harris.
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