Gamecocks Sweep LSU to Cap Opening Weekend of SEC Play

COLUMBIA, S.C. – For the first time in a decade, the South Carolina volleyball team closed its opening weekend of SEC play at 2-0. The Gamecocks swept LSU Sunday afternoon, moving their season record to 11-1 while the Tigers fall back to 5-7 (0-2 SEC). 
 
SET 1: South Carolina’s offense screamed out the gate, putting away 16 kills with a .387 hitting percentage in a 25-19 win. Claire Edwards and Brittany McLean led the way with four kills apiece, with Edwards converting on just five total swings. Conversely, LSU was unable to match Carolina’s effort, getting just nine kills with seven attack errors in the set and would never lead.
 
SET 2: Both offenses struggled in a hotly contested second set, the difference would come in the service game. LSU had no aces and seven errors on serve, while the Gamecocks had three aces and just four errors. There would be 12 ties and seven lead changes in the set, but the Tigers held a key lead late, 19-16. Coming out of a timeout trailing by three, Edwards came through with a big solo block and the home side would use the momentum to fight back to make it 22-all. All told, the set would end on a 5-0 run for Carolina, as three-straight errors from LSU out of the 22-22 tie decided the win.
 
SET 3: After the gut-check win in the second set, a confident South Carolina side would close out the sweep with a wire-to-wire 25-19 win in the third. McLean led the offense with four kills, and the Gamecocks kept the Tigers at an arm’s length from start to finish. The team was able to side out LSU on 15 of 20 opportunities, it’s most efficient set of the afternoon, keeping the Tigers from mounting any significant comeback attempts.
 
NOTABLE

• After Sunday’s win, South Carolina has taken three of the last four meetings with LSU, after the Tigers won the previous five straight matches.
• This is the first match since Nov. 19 of last season that the team had no attackers with double-digit kills. Three hitters did go for eight or more kills, and the team had 35 kills for the match.
• With three more aces Sunday, Aubrey Ezell now has three or more aces in nine of the team’s 12 matches this season.
• Claire Edwards’ three solo blocks tie a career high for the junior middle.
• LSU finished the match with a .103 hitting percentage. It’s the third-straight match holding opponents under .150, and the seventh time over the last eight matches.

QUOTABLE: TOM MENDOZA

UP NEXT: South Carolina trades a home SEC weekend with a road SEC weekend next time out. The Gamecocks will travel to Alabama (13-2, 1-1 SEC) Friday for a 6 p.m. ET first serve against the nationally ranked Crimson Tide, then head to Athens on Sunday for a 2 p.m. showdown with the Georgia Bulldogs (10-2, 1-0 SEC).