Oct. 23, 2014

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina volleyball team is set to host a pair of SEC matches this weekend at the Carolina Volleyball Center.

The Gamecocks (13-7, 3-4 SEC) will face Mississippi State (6-17, 1-7) on Friday in a Dig Pink match at 7 p.m. Carolina will close out the weekend against Missouri (13-9, 4-3) on Sunday. First serve between the Gamecocks and Tigers is set for 1:30 p.m.

WEEKEND INFORMATION
Friday: vs. Mississippi State, 7 p.m. | SEC Network+ |
Sunday: vs. Missouri, 1:30 p.m. | SEC Network+ |
On Twitter: @GamecockVolley
Tickets: Ticket Info | Promotions | Parking
Weekend Notes

Joining the Fight – Dig Pink
• October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and South Carolina is teaming with the Side-Out Foundation to host a Dig Pink match when it faces Mississippi State on Friday. The Gamecocks are looking to increase breast cancer awareness and fundraise to support further research to combat this disease.
• This is the eighth-straight year South Carolina has hosted a breast-cancer awareness match. For more information on this year’s match, click HERE.

South Carolina at a Glance
• The Gamecocks are 13-7 on the season and 3-4 in SEC play.
• Carolina is on a four-match losing streak.
• During the losing streak, the Gamecocks have been outhit .250-.110, out-blocked 33-26 and have given up 1.3 service aces per set.
• The Gamecocks have used eight different starting lineups this season.
• Junior middle blocker Darian Dozier and freshman outside hitter Taylr McNeil have started every match, while senior Mikaela Christiaansen has been libero all 20 matches.

A Look Back at the Coastal Carolina Match
• The Chanticleers defeated the Gamecocks by the scores of 25-15, 25-17 and 25-23. The win was Coastal Carolina’s first over South Carolina. The Gamecocks lead the all-time series 12-1.
• Coastal Carolina outhit South Carolina .291-.051 and held the advantage in kills (48-27) and blocks (4-3).
• Junior setter Kellie McNeil led the way with a double-double, recording 15 assists, 10 digs and four kills.
• Outside hitter Leah Hardeman tallied 17 kills while hitting .351 and nine digs to lead the Chanticleers.

Gamecocks in the SEC Stats
• South Carolina is second in the SEC in blocks per set (2.49).
• Carolina is second in the SEC opponent hitting percentage (.174).
• Carolina ranks second in the conference in digs per set (14.96).
• Junior middle blocker Darian Dozier is third in the SEC in blocks per set (1.32).
• Freshman outside hitter Taylr McNeil ranks eighth in the conference in kills per set (3.39) and is second among freshmen. She is also ninth in the league in points per set (3.80).
• Senior libero Mikaela Christiaansen is third in the SEC in digs per set (4.32).
• Sophomore KoKo Atoa-Williams has seven double-doubles, which is tied for the seventh most in the SEC.

Home Match Notes
• The Gamecocks are 7-3 at the Carolina Volleyball Center this season, with all three losses being to ranked teams (No. 14 Kentucky, No. 8 Florida and No. 20 Texas A&M).
• Carolina has outhit opponents .204-.185 and out-blocked opponents 108-69.
• Three of South Carolina’s first four SEC home matches were against ranked opponents (No. 14 Kentucky, No. 8 Florida, No. 20 Texas A&M) with the fourth being an 18-4 Ole Miss squad.
• The Gamecocks first four home SEC opponents currently have a combined record of 61-16.
• Under head coach Scott Swanson, the Gamecocks 34-23 at home.

In the last 10 matches…
• The Gamecocks have a 5-5 record.
• Carolina has been outhit .204-.179.
• The Gamecocks have out-blocked opponents 94-69.
• Freshman outside hitter Taylr McNeil has led the team with an average of 3.20 kills per set and has two double-doubles
• Sophomore KoKo Atoa-Williams has recorded three of her seven double-doubles.
• Junior setter Kellie McNeil has averaged a team-best 6.88 digs per set and has recorded two double-doubles.
• Sophomore middle blocker Jacqy Angermiller has led the team with 1.08 blocks per set and 40 total blocks.
• Senior libero Mikaela Christiaansen has averaged 4.37 digs per set.

On this Date
• On Oct. 24, 1995, South Carolina took a break from SEC play to face rival Clemson. The Gamecocks swept the Tigers by the scores of 15-7, 15-7 and 15-6. Carolina finished the year 21-11 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
• On Oct. 26, 1993, the Gamecocks took on Charlotte in a non-conference match and won in four sets by the scores of 16-14, 15-9, 4-15 and 15-10. Carolina set the school record for digs in a four-set match with 120.

Climbing the Single-Season and Career Records Lists
• Junior middle blocker Darian Dozier is 19 block assists away from breaking into the top 10 all-time at South Carolina with 257.
• Dozier is five block assists away from posting another number in the top five of the single season block assists list with 90. She tied the rally scoring era record last season with 107.
• Dozier also has a chance 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 1.32 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 4.32 would rank fourth ahead of the next closest average of 3.91 by Paige Wheeler (2012).

Scouting Mississippi State
• The Bulldogs enter Friday with a 6-17 overall record and a 1-7 mark in the SEC.
• Mississippi State is 1-9 in its last 10 matches.
• Mississippi State picked up its first conference win last weekend, defeating Tennessee 3-2.
• The Bulldogs lead the conference and rank 33rd nationally in digs per set (16.57).
• Freshman libero Peyton Harris leads the nation in digs per st (6.58) and total digs (553). She set a school and SEC record with 59 digs vs. Northwestern State (9/13).
• Junior right side/outside hitter Alex Warren leads the team in kills per set (2.58).
• Sophomore middle blocker Bali Leffall-Young ranks 18th in the SEC in both hitting percentage (.297) and blocks per set (0.90).
• Junior setter Shelby Anderton is averaging 5.31 assists per set.

Series History vs. Mississippi State
• Friday’s meeting will be the 41st all-time between South Carolina and Mississippi State
• The Gamecocks lead the all-time series 29-11.
• South Carolina is 7-3 vs. the Bulldogs in the last 10 meetings.
• The Gamecocks are 16-3 at home all-time vs. Mississippi State.
• Mississippi State’s last win in Columbia was a 3-2 win on Oct. 15, 2006.
• Only six of 40 meetings have gone past four sets, with the winning team sweeping 23 of those matches.

Last Time vs. Mississippi State – Oct. 3, 2014
• The Gamecocks swept Mississippi State by the scores of 25-21, 25-18 and 25-14.
• Carolina held the edge in every statistical category, including hitting percentage (.239-.128), kills (38-32), assists (38-30), digs (59-53) and blocks (9-5).
• Freshman outside hitter Taylr McNeil led the way with a match-high 15 kills, six digs and three blocks.
• Junior setter Kellie McNeil had 30 assists and eight digs.
• Sophomore middle blocker Chelsea Duhs led the Bulldogs with 14 kills.

Scouting Missouri
• The Tigers enter the weekend with a 13-9 overall record and a 4-3 record in SEC play.
• Missouri is 5-5 in its last 10 matches.
• The Tigers won the SEC title last season with a perfect 18-0 record and went 35-1 overall, advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
• Missouri leads the SEC in total blocks (197) and is second in total assists (1,038) and total kills (1,124).
• Senior middle blocker Whitney Little ranks third in the SEC and 24th nationally in hitting percentage (.401) and is eighth in the league in blocks per set (1.05).
• Sophomore outside hitter Carly Kan is sixth in the SEC in kills per set (3.47).
• Sophomore setter Loxley Keala leads the team in assists per set (5.75).
• Senior libero Sarah Meister ranks sixth in the SEC in digs per set (3.91).

Series History vs. Missouri
• Sunday’s matchup will be the fourth all-time between South Carolina and Missouri.
• The Tigers lead the series 3-0, including wins in both meetings last season.
• The Gamecocks have been swept in all three previous meetings.

Last Time vs. Missouri – Nov. 17, 2013
• No. 7 Missouri swept the Gamecocks by the scores of 25-13, 25-12 and 25-16 at the Carolina Volleyball Center.
• The Tigers outhit the Gamecocks .466-.055 on the day with just five attack errors on 73 attempts.
• Outside hitter Juliette Thévenin paced Carolina with 10 kills.
• Whitney Little and Lisa Henning each had seven kills for the Tigers.

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 three occasions, including last season’s match vs. Coastal Carolina (10/30/13) with 52 assists, 12 digs and nine blocks. 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 in blocks per set (2.49).
• Junior middle blocker Darian Dozier is third in the SEC in blocks per set (1.32), while sophomore middle Jacqy Angermiller ranks 14th in the league (0.95).
• 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 14 of 20 matches. The Gamecocks are 11-3 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 .240-.134 in losses.
• In conference matches, the Gamecocks are being outhit .224-.176.
• The Gamecocks are outhitting opponents .204-.185 at home.
• The Gamecocks have held opponents to a below a .150 hitting percentage 10 times in 20 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 fourth in the SEC and 27th nationally in average attendance at the Carolina Volleyball Center (1,412).
• The Gamecocks have played in front of 1,000 or more fans in nine of their 10 home matches.
• Seven of this year’s 10 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 750-575 (.566) record.
• The Gamecocks are 164-219 (.428) in SEC play.
• In matches played at the Carolina Volleyball Center, South Carolina is 163-87 (.652).