Oct. 18, 2014

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina volleyball team will play its second-straight match against a ranked opponent as it hosts No. 20 Texas A&M on Sunday at the Carolina Volleyball Center.

First serve between the Gamecocks (13-5, 3-3 SEC) and Aggies (11-6, 3-3) is set for 1:30 p.m. The match will be streamed live on SEC Network+ via WatchESPN.

MATCH INFORMATION
Sunday: vs. No. 20 Texas A&M, 1:30 p.m. | SEC Network+ |
On Twitter: @GamecockVolley
Tickets: Ticket Info | Promotions | Parking
Match Notes

South Carolina at a Glance
• The Gamecocks are 13-5 on the season and 3-3 in SEC play.
• In its last 10 matches, South Carolina is 7-3.
• The Gamecocks have used seven different starting lineups this season.
• Junior middle blocker Darian Dozier, sophomore outside hitter KoKo Atoa-Williams and freshman outside hitter Taylr McNeil have started every match, while senior Mikaela Christiaansen has been libero all 18 matches.

A Look Back at the Florida Match
• South Carolina took the first set from No. 8 Florida, but the Gators won the next three to claim the match 19-25, 25-18, 25-13 and 25-19.
• The Gamecocks are one of only two teams to take a set from Florida in seven SEC matches this season, joining LSU.
• The win in set one was South Carolina’s first against Florida since a 3-1 loss on Sept. 28, 2012.
• Carolina hit .395 with just one attack error on 38 swings to win the first set.
• Freshman outside hitter Taylr McNeil paced Carolina with 16 kills.
• The Gators finished with the advantage in kills (55-40), hitting percentage (.226-.119), digs (61-51) and blocks (10-4).
• The Gamecocks held the Gators to their lowest hitting percentage in SEC play this season (.226).

Gamecocks in the SEC and NCAA Stats
• South Carolina is second in the SEC and ranks 36th nationally in blocks per set (2.57).
• Carolina is second in the SEC and ranks 47th nationally in opponent hitting percentage (.164).
• Carolina ranks second in the conference in digs per set (15.04).
• Junior middle blocker Darian Dozier is second in the SEC and ranks 21st in the nation in blocks per set (1.41). She is first in the SEC and 22nd in the nation in total blocks (93).
• Freshman outside hitter Taylr McNeil ranks sixth in the conference in kills per set (3.51) and is second among freshmen. She is also seventh in the league in points per set (3.93).
• Senior libero Mikaela Christiaansen is third in the SEC in digs per set (4.41).
• Sophomore KoKo Atoa-Williams has seven double-doubles, which is the sixth most in the SEC.

Home Match Notes
• The Gamecocks are 7-2 at the Carolina Volleyball Center this season, with both losses being to ranked teams (No. 14 Kentucky and No. 8 Florida).
• Carolina has outhit opponents .216-.176 and has out-blocked opponents 96-60 at home this season.
• Three of South Carolina’s first four SEC home matches have been against ranked opponents (No. 14 Kentucky, No. 8 Florida, No. 20 Texas A&M).
• Under head coach Scott Swanson, the Gamecocks are 34-22 at home.
• South Carolina is 163-86 (.655) all-time at the Carolina Volleyball Center.

Climbing the Single-Season and Career Records Lists
• Junior middle blocker Darian Dozier is 23 block assists away from breaking into the top 10 all-time at South Carolina with 253.
• Dozier is nine block assists away from posting another number in the top five of the single season block assists list with 86. She tied the rally scoring era record last season with 107.
• Dozier is on pace to break the rally scoring era blocks per set record for a single season. The record is 1.38 held by Belita Salters (2005). Dozier is currently averaging 1.41 blocks per set.
• Senior libero Mikaela Christiaansen is on pace to post a top-five digs per set average for a single season in the rally scoring era. Her current average of 4.41 would rank fourth ahead of the next closest average of 3.91 by Paige Wheeler (2012).

Competition Gets Tougher
• The Gamecocks are in a three-match stretch against teams ranked in the top 30 of the NCAA RPI.
• Carolina lost 3-1 at Alabama on Sunday. The Crimson Tide is ranked 29th in the RPI.
• Florida is No. 8 in the RPI. The Gamecocks lost to the Gators 3-1 on Wednesday.
• Texas A&M, South Carolina’s opponent Sunday, is ranked No. 19.

Scouting No. 20 Texas A&M
• Texas A&M enters Sunday’s match ranked 20th in the country with an 11-6 overall record and a 3-3 mark in the SEC.
• The Aggies have lost three of their last four matches and are 5-5 in their last 10 outings.
• Texas A&M is 3-2 on the road this season.
• The Aggies have two wins over ranked teams as they defeated then-No. 6 Southern California 3-2 and then-No. 13 San Diego 3-1 in the Southern California Classic on Sept. 11-12.
• Texas A&M has 10 letter winners, including four starters, back from last year’s squad that went 19-12 overall and 10-8 in the SEC and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
• The Aggies rank fifth in the SEC and 49th nationally in hitting percentage (.251).
• Junior middle blocker Shelby Sullivan was named AVCA All-South Region Honorable Mention and made the All-SEC Team last season. Sophomore middle Jazzmin Babers also earned AVCA All-South Region Honorable Mention honors and made the SEC All-Freshman Team.
• Sullivan leads the team in both kills per set (3.02) and hitting percentage (.374), the fifth best percentage in the SEC.
• Babers ranks sixth in the SEC in hitting (.353) and fifth in blocks per set (1.19).
• Freshman setter Stephanie Aiple has distributed 10.64 assists per set, which ranks fifth in the SEC.
• Sophomore Victoria Arena leads the team in digs per set, averaging 3.33.

Series History vs. Texas A&M
• Sunday’s meeting will be the seventh all-time between Texas A&M and South Carolina.
• The Aggies lead the all-time series 5-1.
• All five Texas A&M wins have been 3-0 sweeps.
• The Gamecocks lone win over the Aggies was a 3-1 victory in Columbia last season on Oct. 6, 2013.
• Carolina is 1-2 all-time at home against the Aggies.

Last Time vs. Texas A&M – Nov. 27, 2013
• Texas A&M defeated the Gamecocks by the scores of 25-22, 25-6 and 25-18 at Reed Arena in College Station, Texas.
• Outside hitter Juliette Thévenin led the Gamecocks with nine kills and 13 digs. She recorded her 1,000th career dig in the match.
• The Aggies outhit South Carolina .312-.054 and held the advantage in kills (45-28) and blocks (5-4.5), while the teams finished tied in digs (50-50).

Gamecocks vs. Ranked Opponents • Since joining the SEC in 1991, South Carolina is 8-101 against ranked opponents.
• The Gamecocks’ last win over a ranked opponent was a 3-1 win over No. 6 Florida on Sept. 17, 2006 in Columbia.
• Six of Carolina’s eight wins over ranked opponents have been at home.
• The Gamecocks have lost two matches against ranked opponents this season, falling 3-1 to No. 14 Kentucky and 3-1 to No. 8 Florida.

Searching for a Triple-Double
• A Gamecock player has not recorded a triple-double since the 2005 season. Iris Santos was the last to do so, as she finished with 57 assists, 13 digs and 12 kills against Houston on Sept. 16, 2005.
• Junior setter Kellie McNeil has come close to ending the drought on two occasions. She finished with 38 assists, 10 kills, nine digs and six blocks against Ole Miss this season (9/26). In last year’s match at Tennessee (9/29/13), she had 41 assists, 20 digs and seven blocks.

Block Party
• Blocking has been a key to the Gamecocks’ success this season as they rank second in the SEC and 36th nationally in blocks per set 2.57.
• Junior middle blocker Darian Dozier is second in the SEC and ranks 21st in the nation in blocks per set (1.41), while sophomore middle Jacqy Angermiller ranks 17th in the league (0.91).
• South Carolina recorded 17 blocks vs. Eastern Kentucky, its most since recording 20 vs. St. Johns on Sept. 8, 2006.
• Angermiller tallied a career-high 11 blocks (all block assists) vs. Eastern Kentucky, which is tied for the second most block assists in a five-set match in school history and the fourth most total blocks in a five-set match.
• Carolina has out-blocked its opponents in 13 of 18 matches. The Gamecocks are 11-2 in those matches.
• The Gamecocks have out-blocked opponents 136-82 in wins.

Winning the Hitting Battle
• When outhitting opponents, the Gamecocks are 10-0 on the season.
• Carolina is outhitting opponents .238-.137 in wins and is being outhit .229-.154 in losses.
• In conference matches, the Gamecocks are being outhit .220-.188.
• The Gamecocks are outhitting opponents .216-.176 at home.
• The Gamecocks have held opponents to a below a .150 hitting percentage 10 times in 18 matches.
• Carolina has won three matches when being outhit, vs. Georgia Tech (.258-.269), vs. Ole Miss (.184-.189) and vs. Auburn (.211-.221).

Packing the CVC
• South Carolina ranks third in the SEC and 25th nationally in average attendance at the Carolina Volleyball Center (1,457).
• The Gamecocks have played in front of 1,000 or more fans in eight of their nine home matches.
• Seven of this year’s nine home crowds rank in the top 10 in CVC history.
• The crowd of 1,807 for the Ole Miss match is a CVC record.

All-Time Records
• South Carolina holds a 750-573 (.567) record.
• The Gamecocks are 164-218 (.429) in SEC play.
• In matches played at the Carolina Volleyball Center, South Carolina is 163-86 (.655).