Moorman's Big Day Sparks Gamecocks to Sunday Sweep

COLUMBIA, S.C. – A blazing-hot offensive performance powered South Carolina to a 3-0 sweep of Alabama Sunday afternoon, 25-15, 25-14, 25-19. The Gamecocks hit .440 as a team, and enjoyed standout performances from McKenzie Moorman (12 kills, .706 hitting percentage) and their six servers (seven aces, two errors). With back-to-back sweeps this weekend, the team is now 12-8 and 5-4 in SEC play. Alabama falls back to 11-9 (3-6 SEC).
 
SET ONE: The two sides traded leads early on, but the Gamecocks were able to put together an 8-2 run that broke an 8-all tie and ran away for a 25-15 win. The team’s serving game was strong, recording four aces and keeping Alabama out of system for almost the entire set, and it gave the offense easy transition kills. Led by four kills each from Moorman and Mikayla Shields, Carolina finished with 15 kills and a .462 team hitting percentage. Addie Bryant helped the offense out with eight digs to lead the team’s back-line defense.
 
SET TWO: While the box score wouldn’t show it, the serve pressure from Carolina was most apparent in the second set’s 25-14 final. The Gamecocks tormented Alabama’s passers, inducing three over-pass kills that broke the game open halfway through the set. Holding just a 15-12 lead, the team saw Mikayla Shields force a pair of over-passes that Mikayla Robinson hammered home for kills, and the team’s 4-0 run behind her serve keyed a 10-2 finish to the set from there. Robinson’s six kills on just seven swings was a microcosm of South Carolina’s offense in general for the game; the team hit .654 with 18 kills on just 26 total swings to run away with the 2-0 lead.
 
SET THREE: Looking to extend the match, Alabama battled back for its best set of the day in the third, but South Carolina pushed away late for a 25-19 win to clinch the sweep. The Gamecocks took a big early lead, but the Tide ran off six points in a row to make it 15-13, then cut it down to a one-point deficit at 19-18 after their third block of the set. South Carolina turned to its breakout freshman Moorman to right the ship; the Chicago native put away two of her team-high five kills in the set after Alabama cut it to one, and her fifth kill would be the clinching point for the win.
 
NOTABLE

• South Carolina’s .440 hitting percentage is the tenth-highest for a single match in the rally-scoring era, and highest against a SEC opponent since Nov. 23, 2008 (vs. Mississippi State). Moorman’s .706 hitting percentage (12 kills, zero errors, 17 attacks) is the highest by any Gamecock since Mikayla Robinson’s .846 percentage against Mercer on Aug. 25, 2017.
• The team committed just two unblocked attack errors in 84 total swings.
• Mikayla Robinson hit .471 with 11 more kills Sunday; in her last four matches, the junior is hitting .507 with 45 kills (3.21 per set).
• Mikayla Shields did a little bit of everything Sunday, finishing with eight kills, 10 digs, four service aces and two blocks. The four aces are the most by any Gamecock in SEC play this season.
• The team has won three straight over Alabama for the first time since 2007-08, and has its first home win streak in the series since 2001-02.

QUOTABLE: FRESHMAN MCKENZIE MOORMAN
On her career day against Alabama
“It feels great to come off a big home win, especially a sweep against Alabama. We really needed this one and to go 2-0 over this weekend feels really good. Definitely a big confidence booster, it also really helps to have a super supportive team behind me. All the upperclassmen on the court are super supportive, always hyping me up and picking me up when I make mistakes.” 

NEXT UP: The team caps its three-game home stand Friday night against LSU. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. and it will be the team’s Alumnae Appreciation Night.