Oct. 18, 2013
STARKVILLE, Miss. — The South Carolina volleyball team fell in three sets on Friday night at Mississippi State, as the Bulldogs won by the scores of 28-26, 25-18 and 25-20 at the Newell-Grissom Building.
With the loss the Gamecocks drop to 10-9 on the season and 2-5 in SEC play. Mississippi State improves to 10-9 and 1-4 in the conference.
Senior outside hitter Juliette Thévenin paced the Gamecocks with 18 kills while hitting .400 for the match. She also added nine digs. Sophomore Sarah Blomgren contributed 10 kills with a .318 hitting percentage. Sophomore setter Kellie McNeil distributed 22 assists and had five digs, four block assists and three kills. Sophomore middle blocker Darian Dozier had a match-high six blocks. As a team the Gamecocks hit .261 for the match and out-blocked the Bulldogs 9-6.
The Bulldogs hit .336 on the night, with sophomore outside hitter Taylor Scott producing a double-double with 14 kills and 11 digs to lead the way. Freshman Kimmy Gardiner also had a double-double as she chipped in 12 kills and 10 digs, while senior outside hitter Dani McCree finished with 12 kills. Setters Suzanne Horner and Katlyn Mataya dished out 22 and 21 assists, respectively, for Mississippi State.
Mississippi State led 12-7 early in the first set, but the Gamecocks used a 10-4 run to take a 17-16 lead on a Dozier kill. South Carolina had set point at 24-23 after a block by Dozier and Blomgren, but the Bulldogs answered with a kill by Dani McCree to force extra points. With the set tied at 25-25, Mississippi State outscored the Gamecocks 3-1 to win the set.
The Gamecocks fell behind 10-4 early in the second set and were unable to mount a comeback, as Mississippi State went on to claim a 25-18 win.
The teams played to an 8-8 tie in the third set before the Bulldogs went on a 5-1 run to build a 14-9 lead. The Gamecocks pulled to within 23-20 late in the set on a kill by McNeil, but Mississippi State scored the next two points to win the set and the match.
South Carolina returns to action on Sunday at Ole Miss. First serve is set for 2 p.m. ET in Oxford, Miss.
