Oct. 9, 2016
COLUMBIA, S.C. – The South Carolina Gamecock volleyball team lost at home Sunday afternoon to No. 11 Florida, 3-0. With the loss, the Gamecocks drop back to 13-4 overall, 1-4 in SEC play. The Gators improve to 14-2, 4-1.
1st Set: Florida led wire-to-wire to take the first set, 25-14. The Gamecocks hit just -.069 as a team due to an imposing front-line block from the Gators that featured middle blockers Rhamat Alhassan (6-foot-4) and Rachael Kramer (6-foot-8). South Carolina got as close as four, 14-10, late in the set, but Florida pulled away late behind an 8-2 run soon after that for the 1-0 match lead.
2nd Set: South Carolina came out strong to begin the second set, and fought its way to a 7-6 lead. Florida took back control thanks to a 9-0 run immediately after, though, and carried the lead to the finish. Dessaa Legros had two kills and a pair of blocks in the set, but five more blocks from Florida kept Carolina to just eight kills in total for the game.
3rd Set: The Gamecocks had their best set of the afternoon in the third, despite mixing a number of new faces into the lineup. Carolina held an early lead at 5-3, but Florida kept stringing together three- and four-point runs to take back control at the media timeout, 15-10. The Gators clinched the sweep with a 25-19 win in the third. Courtney Furlong led the team with four kills and three digs in the set, and Jesse Turner added two kills on four swings in the game.
Stat of the Match
South Carolina hit just .030 as a team for the match, its lowest of the season. Florida blocked 11 total attacks for the day, tied for the most by a Gamecock opponent this season.
Notable
- Florida entered the match as the nation’s top hitting team, with a combined percentage of .336. The Gamecocks were able to hold the Gators to a .250 rate for the match Sunday.
- The starting lineup had a different look Sunday, with Abreia Epps and Courtney Koehler getting the start in place of Aubrey Ezell and Jacqy Angermiller, and Joely Cabrera in for Megan Kirkland at libero.
- 15 players saw extended playing time for the Gamecocks, with Jesse Turner (two kills) and Courtney Furlong (four kills) playing most of the third set in the front row and Savannah Murray (two digs) stepping in to the back row.
Up Next
The Gamecocks hit the road for two matches next weekend. First will be a Friday night match at Texas A&M, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET. Then, on Sunday, Carolina will take on LSU in Baton Rouge on ESPNU. First serve is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. ET.
