Nov. 14, 2014
FAYETTEVILLE, ARK. – The South Carolina volleyball team battled back from a two-set deficit to force a fifth set at Arkansas on Friday night, but the Razorbacks held on to win by the scores of 25-17, 25-18 23-25, 20-25 and 15-11 at Barnhill Arena.
With the loss, the Gamecocks drop to 15-11 on the season and 5-8 in the SEC. Arkansas improves to 14-13 overall and 8-6 in the conference.
As a team, Arkansas outhit the Gamecocks .215-.160 and held the advantage in kills (70-49), digs (75-61) and blocks (8-6).
Freshman outside hitter Taylr McNeil tallied 11 kills to lead the Gamecocks, while junior right side Sarah Blomgren added nine kills while hitting .320. Junior middle blocker Darian Dozier finished with seven kills and three digs, and junior setter Kellie McNeil filled the stat sheet with 24 assists, seven kills and seven digs. In her first career SEC action, senior Caroline Cann recorded a career-high seven kills and three digs, while sophomore middle blocker Jacqy Angermiller finished with six kills while hitting .556. Freshman setter Allie Monserez contributed a double-double with 14 assists and 10 digs, and senior libero Mikaela Christiaansen recorded a match-high 22 digs.
Four Razorbacks finished with double figures in kills. Liz Fortado led the way with 19 while hitting .351. Outside hitter Meredith Hays pitched in 18 kills and nine digs. Chanell Clark-Bibbs added 16 kills, seven blocks and six digs, while Ana Sofia Jusino had 10 kills. Setter Bailee Hankenson dished out 55 assists and had 11 digs, and Monica Bollinger collected 20 digs for the Razorbacks.
Match Changer
After the Gamecocks pulled to within 12-11 in the fifth set, Arkansas called timeout, came back out on the court and scored three straight points to clinch the match.
Key Stat
The Razorbacks finished with a 70-49 advantage in kills and out-blocked the Gamecocks 8-6 for the match, including three in the fifth set.
Notable
· Dozier pushed her school-record block assists total for a single season in the rally scoring era to 115 with three blocks on Friday.
· Angermiller played in her first match since suffering an ankle injury against Texas A&M on Oct. 19. She recorded six kills while hitting .556.
· Cann played in her first career SEC match and recorded a career-high seven kills, three digs and a block.
Up Next
The Gamecocks will host Auburn on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. at the Carolina Volleyball Center. The match has been designated as Senior Day for seniors Mikaela Christiaansen and Caroline Cann. The contest will be streamed live on SEC Network+.
