Oct. 21, 2012
UNIVERSITY, Miss. – South Carolina (15-8, 3-8 SEC) made it interesting in the third set, but Mississippi (10-10, 4-7 SEC) came out with the three-set victory, 25-19, 25-12, 25-21, in the Gillom Sports Center on Sunday afternoon.
Nakeyta Clair led the Rebels with 14 kills on a .520 hitting percentage while also topping all players with eight blocks, three of those solo. Kara Morgan added 10 kills. Amanda Philpot posted 31 assists, 22 digs and five kills. Ashley Veach posted 12 digs.
Outside hitters Jenna Allen and Juliette Thévenin both had nine kills for the Gamecocks, with Thévenin also leading the team with 12 digs. Redshirt sophomore Cara Howley added two blocks.
Two big Rebel runs helped Mississippi take a 25-19 win in set one. A 7-1 start to the set, powered by two block assists and three kills from Clair, put the Rebels on top. The Gamecocks used a 7-1 run to draw within two, as Howley and senior setter Taylor Bruns both had two kills in the stretch. But the Rebels closed the frame with a 5-1 stand, getting two kills and a block assist from Philpot, to claim the first set. Clair had seven kills and three blocks in the first frame, while Philpot added four kills, eight assists, an ace, two block assists and 10 digs.
The Rebels captured a 25-12 set-two win. The score was 14-6 before the Gamecocks got back-to-back points. Mississippi closed the set with a four-point skein, with Seini Moimoi getting three kills in the stretch. The Rebels hit .593 in the second set, getting four kills each from Ty Laporte and Ashley Anderson.
A tight third set went to Mississippi, 25-21. The Gamecocks held a 17-15 lead after a four-point stand that included two Thomas kills. But the Rebels tied things with consecutive points on kills from Moimoi and Laporte. After trading points for two sequences, the Rebels ended the frame with a six-point stand. Clair had two blocks and a kill in the final sequence.
South Carolina had two aces and no service errors, but the Rebels won the rest of the stat categories.
The Gamecocks return home next weekend, hosting Auburn and Texas A&M at the Volleyball Competition Facility.
