OXFORD, MISS. – The South Carolina volleyball team closed out the 2016 season at Ole Miss Friday night, losing to the Rebels in three sets. The Gamecocks end the year with an overall record of 18-12, 6-12 in the SEC. The win total is tied for the most in a single season since 2008, and ties the most under head coach Scott Swanson.
1st Set: Ole Miss jumped out to the 1-0 lead in the match with a 25-17 win in the opening set. The Gamecock offense was unable to put the ball away against a defense that ranks second in the conference for digs. Though Carolina would have just four attack errors, it mustered just seven kills and hit .103 in the game while the Rebels put down 18 and hit .353.
2nd Set: The home side upped its efficiency in the second set to take the 2-0 lead into halftime, 25-16. Ole Miss hit .400 in the set, and held the Gamecocks to .119. South Carolina hurt itself with six unforced attack errors, and while Mikayla Shields put down five kills, the offense could not diversify enough to get clean looks at the net.
3rd Set: The Gamecocks were volume shooters in the start of the third set, earning a 10-5 lead early with an 8-2 kill advantage, three coming from Shields. The Rebels rallied out of a timeout to tie the game up at 12-all, and took over the lead after the Gamecocks settled back in to old habits. A 3-1 burst out of a 14-14 tie gave Ole Miss its largest lead of the set at 18-15, and the Gamecocks we unable to bounce back, giving the Rebels the sweep.
Stat of the Match
The Gamecock offense was out hit by Ole Miss .340 to .116 in the match. Carolina committed 21 attack errors, 16 of which were unforced. The 21 errors were the second-most in a three set match this season.
Notable
Mikayla Shields finishes her freshman season with 341 kills, the second-most by a first-year player at Carolina in the rally-scoring era (since 2001). Her season hitting percentage of .000 is a new freshman rally-era record.
The team’s 12 losses for the year are the fewest since 2008.
Up Next
The Gamecocks now prepare for the 2017 season, losing five seniors but welcoming back seven players who appeared in 20 or more matches to pair with a three-member signing class. Stay tuned to GamecocksOnline.com all year for updates on the team’s spring exhibition season and other developments ahead of next year.
