Nov. 17, 2013
| Highlights |
COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina volleyball team wrapped up its weekend with a three-set loss to No. 7 Missouri on Sunday, as the Tigers won the sets by the scores of 25-13, 25-12 and 25-16 at the Volleyball Competition Facility.
The Gamecocks fall to 12-16 on the season and 3-12 in the SEC with the loss. Missouri remains unbeaten at 31-0 overall and 15-0 in league play.
The difference on Sunday was Missouri’s efficiency on offense. The Tigers out-hit the Gamecocks .466-.055 with just five attack errors in 73 attempts.
Senior outside hitter Juliette Thévenin was South Carolina’s top attacker as she tallied a match-high 10 kills and added two digs. Sophomore right side Sarah Blomgren finished with six kills and a block assist, while sophomore middle blocker Darian Dozier chipped in five kills and a block assist. Sophomore Elizabeth Johnbull and freshman Dessaa Legros contributed three kills apiece. Freshman setter Helen Récaborde distributed 28 assists, and junior libero Michaela Christiaansen collected a match-high 10 digs.
Senior outside hitter Lisa Henning and junior middle blocker Whitney Little paced Missouri with seven kills apiece while hitting .333 and .636, respectively, and adding two block assists each. Freshman Carly Kan finished with six kills (.600) and six digs, while freshman middle Emily Thater and junior outside hitter Emily Wilson chipped in five kills each. Senior setter Molly Kreklow dished out 33 assists and pitched in eight digs and a match-high three block assists.
The Gamecocks fell behind 10-2 in the first set and were unable to recover, as Missouri went on to hit .591 for the frame on its way to claiming a 25-13 win.
South Carolina played the Tigers tough early in the second set as it got out to a 3-2 lead behind a kill by Jacqy Angermiller, a Thévenin kill and a Missouri attack error. After the teams played to a 4-4 tie, the Tigers took control of the set with a 13-4 run to build a 17-8 cushion on their way to winning the set 25-12.
The Gamecocks took a 4-2 lead early in the third set on a kill by Dozier, but Missouri answered with a 4-2 run to tie the match at 6-6. The Tigers pulled away with a 7-0 run to take a 13-6 lead. South Carolina was unable to pull closer than five points the rest of the way, as Missouri clinched the match with a 25-16 win.
South Carolina will have a split weekend next week as it is set to play at Arkansas on Friday (8 p.m.) and return home to face LSU on Sunday (1:30 p.m.) for Senior Day.
