Volleyball Hosts Charlotte Tuesday Night

COLUMBIA, S.C. – A cross-border rivalry will be renewed Tuesday night, when South Carolina hosts Charlotte for a 7 p.m. matchup at the Carolina Volleyball Center. The Gamecocks (5-1) are coming off a three-match weekend at the Rice Invitational. Fans who are unable to make it to the match can follow the LIVE STATS.
 
SCOUTING CHARLOTTE
The 49ers are 5-3 on the season, boosted by a three-game sweep of the Rose Hill Classic this past weekend, hosted at Fordham. Charlotte defeated Bryant, Marist and the host Rams, and libero Yumi Garcia earned MVP honors for the tournament. Defense has staked the team to its strong start, the 49ers lead Conference USA in blocks (2.67) and opponent hitting percentage (.147), and Garcia’s 221 total digs lead all CUSA individuals.
 
Offensively, Reean Richardson paces the attack with 3.85 kills per set and a strong .282 hitting percentage despite accounting for over a quarter of the team’s total attacks. Molly Shaw had a tremendous week, with 68 total kills over a five-day period that peaked with a career-high 19 kills and just one error in the team’s win over Marist on Saturday.
 
This will be the 11^th meeting in the all-time series, but the first since 2006. South Carolina leads the series 10-0, and has swept all but two of the previous meetings.

RICE INVITATIONAL NOTABLES

• Mikayla Shields and Aubrey Ezell represented South Carolina on the all-tournament team. Shields hit .291 with 41 kills and 30 digs, Ezell had 48 digs and 14 aces.
• With three more aces Saturday against Houston Baptist, Ezell now has 25 for the season. The senior moved into a tie with Jodi Thompson (1991-94) for fifth in the program’s all-time history with her 162 career aces.
• Brittany McLean ended the weekend with 38 total kills, after putting away 13 against Houston Baptist.
• Mikayla Shields rebounded from an off match against Liberty to lead the offense against Rice. Her 18 kills and 11 digs marked her second double-double of the season and 18th of her career.
• Ezell’s seven aces against Rice are a new personal best for the rally-scoring era leader for the category. The senior had at least two aces in the three of the four sets Friday. The only Gamecocks in the modern era with more aces in a match of any length is Cally Plummer (10/10/2001) and Megan Hosp (9/7/2002), who had eight.
• Claire Edwards led the team with seven total blocks against Rice, matching her career high set against North Florida last season.
• The team had 11 total aces against Liberty and Rice Friday. There have only been three matches with double-digit aces for the team over the previous two seasons combined. The last time the Gamecocks had 11 or more aces in a four-set match was in 2010, when they had 13 against Creighton.
• McLean’s 18 kills against Liberty are tied for the most by any Gamecock through six matches this season, and are a new career high for the junior.
• Jess Vastine’s 14 digs against Liberty led the team and set a new career high. The sophomore’s previous best was 11, set last season at Duke.
• Claire Edwards’ three aces against the Flames were also a career high. The junior previously had a pair of aces on two different occasions in 2017.

The Gamecocks will be on the road this coming weekend, heading up I-95 for the Maryland Invite on Saturday and Sunday. The team’s next home match will be Sept. 21, when it opens the SEC season with a match against Mississippi State.