Gamecocks Drop Road Match at No. 13 Florida

GAINESVILLE, FLA. – The South Carolina volleyball team were swept on the road Wednesday night, losing at No. 13 Florida (25-17, 25-19, 25-19). Mikayla Robinson led all hitters with 12 kills and hit an efficient .556, but the Gator offense hit .368 for the night as a team and moved to 14-3 overall and 5-1 in conference play. South Carolina stands at 11-8 (3-4 SEC) heading into its bye weekend. 
 
SET ONE: Florida jumped ahead early and showed off its high-octane offense with 12 kills for its first 15 points to get the 15-10 advantage by the media timeout. A kill and an ace, back-to-back, from Jess Vastine following the timeout gave Carolina momentum briefly, but Florida answered quickly with a 6-1 run that put the set out of reach at 21-13. While the Gamecock offense was able to work around the big Gator block, their defense would be unable to slow Florida. The home side had a 19-12 advantage in kills and out-hit Carolina .548 to .267 in a 25-17 final.
 
SET TWO: Self-inflicted errors put the Gamecocks down to start the second set, as Florida built an 18-9 lead on the way to a 25-19 win and a 2-0 lead in the match. South Carolina had five unblocked attacking errors and three service errors among those 18 Florida points to fall behind, but once the Gamecocks were able to shore up their side of the net it finished the set strong. Both Vastine and Kylee Stokes pitched in a kill and an ace during the late run, and Mikayla Robinson’s six total kills in the game as the team finished with a 10-7 advantage, but the early hole would be too much to overcome.
 
SET THREE: The final set would start strong for South Carolina, but it would not be enough in a 25-19 final to close the match. The Gamecocks had nine kills and three blocks among its first 14 points, with the kills coming from six different attackers. Freshman McKenzie Moorman gave the team a boost in her first game action, getting a pair of blocks assists with Claire Edwards and a kill early. Trailing 15-14 at the television timeout, the Gamecocks stayed in striking distance with two more kills from Moorman, but Florida pushed away with a 3-0 run out of a 21-18 lead and end the match.

NEXT UP: The Gamecocks have their bye weekend, meaning their next on-court action will be back at home on Oct. 25 against Tennessee. It will be a full home weekend to close out October; after Friday’s 7 p.m. first serve with the Volunteers, South Carolina will have a 1 p.m. match against Alabama at home that airs nationally on ESPNU.