Volleyball Hosts LSU in Key SEC Home Match

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina volleyball aims to continue its home winning streak Friday night when it hosts LSU at 7 p.m. in the Carolina Volleyball Center. The Gamecocks went 2-0 at home last weekend for their first back-to-back wins of SEC play, and stand at 13-8 overall and 5-4 in conference action. The Tigers are 10-9 overall (4-5 SEC) and are coming off a bye week.

Friday will also be Carolina’s annual Alumnae Appreciation Night, with former Gamecock standouts returning to the Carolina Volleyball Center. Fans looking to extend their Halloween celebration one extra day can also come to the match in costume and receive $1 admission (no props or masks allowed). 

General single-game tickets are on sale, $5 for adults and $3 for youth. A reminder, students attending matches at the Carolina Volleyball Center should note that their entrance to the facility has changed for 2019. Instead of entering through the Park Street side of the gym, students should now enter at the top of the building, located by the Blossom and Assembly Street intersection. Ticket holders should still plan to enter via the Park Street entrance.

Please refer to the PARKING MAP for a bird’s-eye view of the Carolina Volleyball Center and surrounding areas.

WEEKEND NOTABLES (TENNESSEE, ALABAMA)

• This is Mikayla Robinson’s seventh match with double-digit kills so far this season. The junior had just eight all last season. Robinson has hit under .400 just once in those seven matches with 10 or more kills, and has three matches with 12 or more attacks and a hitting percentage .600 or better.
• Mikayla Shields moved up to eighth in the program’s rally-scoring era for career solo blocks (with 36). She now has 18 total blocks in the last four matches (1.28 per set), after recording just 25 through the first 16 matches (0.42/set).
• With 17 more digs against Tennessee, Addie Bryant enters Sunday with 111 digs in six October matches. The senior libero is averaging 5.55 digs per set during that span.
• In the team’s last two matches, freshman McKenzie Moorman has eight kills and four total blocks over three sets off the bench.
• Tennessee’s .088 hitting percentage is the team’s lowest since Nov. 25, 2015 – a span of 109 matches. 
• South Carolina’s .440 hitting percentage against Alabama 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). 
• McKenzie Moorman’s .706 hitting percentage (12 kills, zero errors, 17 attacks) against the Crimson Tide 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 vs. Alabama.
• 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: HEAD COACH TOM MENDOZA
On the team’s focus heading into the final month of the regular season
“At this point in the year, you can tell which teams are ready to make a push and which teams are ready for their season to be over. You can either re-invest at this point of the year, or you can figure out your holiday plans and I think our group is ready to make that investment and grind out some more games and work on getting better.”

SCOUTING LSU
LSU has a 10-9 overall record and 4-5 mark in SEC play, coming off a nine-day break after losses to the SEC co-leaders Florida and Kentucky. It has been a tough recent streak of SEC matches for the team, with the combined overall record of its last seven conference opponents being 95-43 (689). The Tigers have arguably the most talented group of freshman in the conference, with first-year starters in Samarah Hill (2.49 kills per set), Karli Rose (9.30 assists/set), Allee Morris (1.60 kills/set, 0.95 blocks/set) and Anita Anwusi (1.26 blocks/set) playing critical roles for the team. They’ve been key compliments to All-SEC hitter Taylor Bannister, who continues to shoulder a major role for the team with just under four kills per set, 55 blocks and a team-high 15 service aces.

ALL TIME RECORDS

• South Carolina holds an 830-648 (.561) all-time record, dating back to 1973. The team’s 800th win of all time came on Aug. 25, 2018 against Clemson.
• The Gamecocks joined the SEC for volleyball in 1991, and have an all-time conference record of 198-275 (.417).
• In matches in the Carolina Volleyball Center, Carolina is 209-114 (.645) overall and 106-97 (.517) in SEC matches.
• Tom Mendoza became the program’s 13th head coach on Jan. 3, 2018. This is his fourth season overall as a head coach, with a career record of 80-36.

For updates on the match, fans can watch the live stream or live stats, or follow @GamecockVolley on Twitter.