Gamecocks Lose to No. 11 Kentucky, 3-1

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina was able to claim the opening set against No. 11 Kentucky Wednesday night, but fell in four sets (19-25, 25-21, 25-18, 25-17) to the conference-leading Wildcats (23-4, 17-0 SEC). The Gamecocks are now 19-8, 10-7 in the SEC with one match remaining in the regular season.
 
The team was efficient in the opening game, winning 25-19 and holding Kentucky to just a .125 hitting percentage. Courtney Furlong and Mikayla Robinson each had five kills off just 14 combined attacks as the Gamecocks led wire-to-wire. A 5-0 run started the set, and after Kentucky made it just 11-9 in favor of Carolina, a 6-0 run behind the serve of Claire Edwards put the game out of reach.
 
Kentucky benefitted from adjustments coming out of the opening set, and hit .327 over the final three sets to come back for the win. The Gamecock offense would not waver much statistically from the first set, but unforced errors on their own side of the net helped Kentucky find its mojo. The Wildcats were able to lock down on Robinson after her big opening set, holding her to five kills and five errors on 23 swings for the final three frames, and South Carolina’s defense wasn’t able to slow down All-American left-side hitter Leah Edmond, who hit .327 with 21 kills for the night.
 
South Carolina finished the night with just three fewer kills than Kentucky, but weren’t able to force the Wildcats into easy errors. Over the final two sets, the visitors were able to side-out at 72 percent, meaning the Gamecocks were stifled from piecing together the runs that helped them take the opening game. Kentucky’s defense finished the match off in the fourth with 21 digs and a pair of blocks to hold South Carolina to just 10 kills and a .135 hitting percentage, en route to a 25-17 win.
 
NOTABLE

• South Carolina finishes the home season with an 11-2 record in the Carolina Volleyball Center. It’s tied for the most wins since 2008, and its the highest win percentage (.846) since 2008.
• Kentucky has won 11 straight in the series, dating back to 2010. Tonight was just the fifth set that South Carolina has won during the streak.
• With a game-high 22 digs, Aubrey Ezell moved into the top ten for most digs in a single season during the rally-scoring era (since 2001). Ezell has four straight 20-dig matches now, the longest of her career. She previously had a three-game streak in 2017.
• Mikayla Shields posted her second straight double-double, giving her 24 for her career. That’s good for 13^thin program history, tied with Jodi Thompson (1991-94).
• Claire Edwards moved up to sixth in the rally-scoring era for career solo blocks, now with 36 through three seasons.
• Courtney Furlong has continued her late-season hot streak with a team-high 13 kills and .370 hitting percentage Wednesday. In the month of November, the senior pin is averaging 2.38 kills per set with a .264 hitting percentage.
• Courtney Koehler eclipsed 1,000 assists for the season, and moved up to sixth for most in a season for the scoring era. 

STAT OF THE MATCH:The Gamecocks did themselves no favors with mental miscues, with 11 unblocked attack errors, 12 service errors, six serve reception errors and six blocking errors to give Kentucky 35 points. In comparison, the Wildcats had nine unblocked attack errors, eight service errors, three serve reception errors and five blocking errors (25 points).
 
UP NEXT: The team will travel on Thanksgiving Day to get ready for a Black Friday showdown with No. 13 Florida in Gainesville on Nov. 23 for a 7 p.m. first serve. It will be the regular season finale for both teams.