Volleyball Closes Out Regular Season With Home Matches Wednesday and Friday

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Gamecock volleyball team wraps up the 2019 regular season at home this week with two matches, looking to add to its postseason resume with Selection Sunday just around the corner. South Carolina (18-10, 10-6 SEC) hosts Texas A&M (20-4, 12-4 SEC) at 7 p.m. Wednesday night, then return to action on Friday with a 7 p.m. match against Arkansas (11-17, 5-11 SEC) . The finale against the Razorbacks will also be senior night for Carolina’s six seniors: Addie Bryant, Claire Edwards, Courtney Koehler, Brittany McLean, Alicia Starr and Mikayla Shields. The team is coming off two road wins last weekend and are in range of reaching 20 wins, something no Gamecock team has done since 2001-02.

As a thank you to fans, admission for Friday’s season finale will be free for all in attendance. Please refer to the PARKING MAP for a bird’s-eye view of the Carolina Volleyball Center and surrounding areas as you make your way to the gym.

WEEKEND NOTABLES (GEORGIA, AUBURN)

• After recording 14 blocks at Georgia, Mikayla Robinson now has two matches this season with double-digit blocks. Her seven block alone in the third set against the Bulldogs would have led the team in all but three matches for the year. Her five solo blocks are the most since Teresa Stenlund had five against Lipscomb on Sept. 11, 2010.
• Behind Robinson’s big night, the team totaled 18 blocks at Georgia, the third time this season reaching that total. It’s the fourth-highest total for a match of any length in program history.
• Courtney Koehler moved up to 17th in program history with her 22nd career double-double at Georgia.The senior finished with 43 assists and 14 digs in the match. She also finished with a career high in blocks, with six.
• Mikayla Shields’ 24 kills vs. the Bulldogs are the most by any Gamecock so far this season. She has two 20-kill matches this season, the last coming at Clemson (Sept. 12). 
• Georgia out-hit South Carolina .205 to .191, this is the first time this season that the Gamecocks were out-hit in a match but still won.
• The five-set match breaks a streak of eight consecutive three-set matches for South Carolina, dating back to Oct. 16. Four of the last five matches against Georgia have gone to five sets. 
• This is the first time since 2001-02 that the team reached double-digit SEC wins in back-to-back seasons. The six road wins in 2019 are tied with 2014’s team for the most over the last decade.
• South Carolina’s 16 total blocks at Auburn is the highest total for a three-set match in 14 years. The last time the Gamecocks reached the mark was Nov. 9, 2005 against Tennessee. The team has double-digit blocks in eight matches this season, and its average of 2.54 blocks per set so far this season is the highest average by a Gamecock team since 2005.
• With nine more blocks Sunday at Auburn, Mikayla Robinson finished the weekend with 23 total blocks over eight sets. The seven block assists are second most for a three-set match in the rally scoring era, and her 124 total blocks with two matches to play are already a single season best for the junior.
• Robinson is up to 17 solo blocks in SEC matches alone, which is tied with Belita Salters’ 2007 total for most in the rally scoring era.
• Mikayla Shields (13 kills, 11 digs) recorded her third double-double in a row on Sunday, and now has five over the last six matches and seven overall this season. Shields also move into the program’s top 10 list for points in a single season, with 418.5, passing Cally Plummer’s 2001 total of 414.0.
• Courtney Koehler reached 3,500 career assists in the win, something only four other Gamecocks have achieved.

SCOUTING TEXAS A&M
Texas A&M is thriving in year two of head coach Laura Kuhn’s tenure, entering week three of SEC play at 12-4 and three five-set losses away from a spot in driver’s seat for the SEC title. The Aggies lost in five sets at No. 22 Missouri, Tennessee and No. 14 Florida early in the season, but otherwise have been stout in 2019, with strong non-conference wins over Dayton, Texas State and Oklahoma and top-25 upsets of Missouri and Kentucky in recent weeks. Senior Hollann Hans remains one of the premier attackers in the nation, averaging 4.49 kills per set (2nd in the SEC), and running the show is one of the best attacking setters in the country, Camille Conner (1.65 kills, 9.84 assists per set). On defense, the Aggies excel at putting pressure on opponents with their serve, and rank fifth in the SEC with 2.44 blocks per set. Makena Patterson leads the conference and sits 28th nationally with 1.33 blocks per set, and five other Aggies boast 45 or more total blocks to date.

SCOUTING ARKANSAS
The Gamecocks snapped a four-game losing streak to the Hogs in the first meeting of the season, but Arkansas enters the week on a three-game winning streak. Freshman Jillian Gillen leads an offense that lost top returning attacker Hayley Dirrigl to injury in the non-conference season, Gillen posts 3.73 kills per set but is also a volume hitter who averages 10.44 attacks per set. Another freshman, Maggie Cartwright, has stepped in for Dirrigl and ranks second on the team with 2.40 kills per set. The team’s defense has been a sticking point for Arkansas, the Razorbacks rank 12th in digs, 12th in blocks and 11th in opponent hitting percentage among SEC teams.

TRENDING TOPICS
In the last five matches…

• The Gamecocks have out-hit opponents, .229 to .216, but opponents are averaging almost two more kills per set. Mikayla Shields has been tearing it up on offense, averaging 4.24 kills per set with a .352 hitting percentage.
• The offense has been spread out, with seven hitters posting double-digit kills.
• The team’s blocking numbers have been incredible, with 59 in the last five matches. Mikayla Robinson has contributed 38 blocks in that span, more than the combined total of the five opponents, who have 30.
• Opponents have found success in the serve game, averaging 1.47 aces per set against the Gamecocks. Carolina has struggled to score off its serve, with just 11 aces in the last five matches.

BRYANT HEATING UP IN SEC PLAY
Addie Bryant’s arrival to South Carolina last season was a major part in the team’s turn-around performance in 2018, and now as the team’s full-time libero, the senior from San Antonio, Texas is blossoming. Her 35 digs against the Razorbacks on Oct. 13 in the third-highest total in the program’s 47-year history, behind Hannah Lawing (38 vs. Mississippi St., 11/13/2010), Sarah Cline (36 vs. Arkansas, 11/2/2007) and Jodi Thompson (36 vs. Louisiana Tech, 9/19/1992). While the performance at Arkansas was no doubt her most memorable match as a Gamecock, it also represents a big jump she has made in SEC play. Bryant averaged 3.18 digs per set with a .958 serve reception percentage in non-conference play, but in conference matches she is at 4.44 and .976, respectively.

GAMECOCKS MAKE HISTORY WITH WEEKLY HONORS
For the first time since 2002, South Carolina volleyball had an individual recognized as the SEC Player of the Week, as junior Mikayla Robinson earned both the overall Player of the Week, and the Defensive Player of the Week awards on Nov. 25. Robinson had an epic weekend of production as a blocker, totaling 23 blocks in eight sets in road wins at Georgia and at Auburn.

It is the second time the West Dundee, Ill. native has been honored by the conference office, and fourth overall for her career. Only Juliette Thévenin (2010-13) has as many conference awards in a career. The last member of the program to earn Player of the Week was Sam Alban on Oct. 15, 2002.

Friday night in Athens, Robinson racked up 14 total blocks (five solo) in the team’s five-set upset of the Bulldogs on the road, the most by any SEC student-athlete this season and ties her for the third-highest single-game total in conference history. It is the second-highest total by any member of the program in its 48-year history, and most since Libby Ralston set the program record with 16 against Jacksonville on Sept. 6, 1991. Robinson now has two matches this season with double-digit blocks, and her five solo blocks are the second-most in a match in program history and most by any Gamecock since Teresa Stenlund against Lipscomb on Sept. 11, 2010.

She stayed locked in for the team’s road finale on Sunday, blocking nine balls in the team’s sweep at Auburn (two solo). Robinson accounted for 23 of the team’s 34 total blocks for the weekend, pushing the team to two road wins. Despite playing the second-lowest set total among SEC rivals in conference play (54 sets), Robinson now has 12 more blocks in conference matches than any other individual. Her 90 blocks in SEC matches alone is just nine fewer than what she had all of last season (in 112 sets).

Coupled with Robinson’s Offensive Player of the Week, McKenzie Moorman’s Freshman of the Week on Oct. 28, and Claire Edwards’ Defensive Player of the Week recognition on Sept. 9, South Carolina has a single-season record for most weekly awards earned in a single season.

VASTINE GROWS INTO LARGER ROLE IN 2019
Junior Jess Vastine saw her role expand greatly in head coach Tom Mendoza’s first year leading the program, developing more into a six-rotation left side attacker. Now in her second year with the defined role, the Wittmann, Ariz. native has made another big jump in production across the board, with single-season highs for service aces (24), attacks (631), digs (201) and kills (181). Vastine also leads the team’s serve receive defense with 626 receptions, weathering the 6.32 receptions per set with a .954 reception percentage.

SHIELD BEARER
Last season, Mikayla Shields became the fifth junior in the program’s 47-year history to make it to 1,000 career kills in three seasons or less. Overall, she is 15th member of the program ever to reach 1,000 kills, and the fourth-fastest (making it in her 80th career game). Currently, Shields ranks fourth for career kills in the program record book and 21st among all active Division I attackers. In the team’s win at Mississippi State on Nov. 8, she reached 1,400 kills, the fourth member of the program to do so.

It isn’t just her production that’s impressive, Shields is also in rare company when it comes to efficiency. She reached 3,500 career attacks last weekend, something only three other members of the program have achieved. Despite the workload, Shields still maintains a career hitting percentage of .295, good for seventh in program history (minimum 1,200 attacks). Among the six Gamecocks with over 3,000 attacks, only program legend Lori Rowe (1983-86) also ranks in the top ten for hitting percentage. Currently, Shields is the only pin hitter in the SEC to rank in the top 10 for hitting percentage, and she also is the only individual in the conference to sit in the top 10 in both kills per set and hitting percentage.

FRESH LEGS
With 16 SEC matches in the books, South Carolina stands at just 54 sets played, thanks to 13 of those matches finishing in just three sets. Since the conference went to an 18-match format in 2013, the lowest team set total is 59 for SEC play, accomplished in 2013. Overall, the team has played beyond three sets just nine times total, compared to 15 times in 2018 and 20 in 2017. Among conference rivals, only last-place Auburn has played fewer sets (52).

MENDOZA SIGNS TWO IN NOVEMBER PERIOD
The Gamecocks added two new members to the program, with Ellie Ruprich (Beverly Hills, Mich.) and Kiune Fletcher (El Dorado, Trinidad and Tobago) signing during the November period. Both will be four-year student-athletes for South Carolina.

Ruprich lettered in volleyball, basketball and lacrosse at Birmingham Groves High School. She is a 2019 AAU All-American, after leading her Legacy Volleyball Club’s 17s team to a fifth-place finish at AAU National and USAVB Nationals. Earlier this month, she also was named to the AVCA High School All-Region 5 Team.

Fletcher has family ties that brings her to Columbia – her cousin is current senior Mikayla Shields. She is the youngest member of the Trinidad and Tobago national team, making the roster for the 2018 FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship in Japan and the 2019 Pan American Cup. Despite being just 17, she earned the role of captain in the team’s recent run at the NORCECA Women’s Continental Cup. 

KOEHLER SETTING HER SIGHTS ON SC RECORDS
Senior Courtney Koehler has rocketed through the record book as she begins season four running the offense. Against Charlotte on Sept. 10, she surpassed Taylor Bruns’ record for most assists in the rally-scoring era (since 2001), and against Auburn on Nov. 24 she passed 3,500 career assists. Only four other Gamecocks in the program’s 47-year history have reached 3,500. Scratching the top three marks from the sideout-scoring era will be a challenge, but Koehler did pass Jodi Thompson (1991-94) for the number five spot in the program’s all-time history in the win over Tennessee on Oct. 25. She will need 86 assists by the end of the season to move up another spot, passing Julie Morrison (1984-87, 3,602 assists).

WHEN THE GAMECOCKS WIN…

• The team is out-hitting the opposition .290 to .159, with Mikayla Robinson posting a .378 hitting percentage in wins compared to .254 in losses.
• The team averages almost twice as many aces per set in wins than in losses (1.44 to 0.76). The trio of Claire Edwards, Mikayla Shields and Jess Vastine lead the way; they combine for 64 aces in the 18 wins but just 14 in the 10 losses.
• Mikayla Shields’ kill totals are somewhat comparable win (3.62) or lose (3.27), but her efficiency increases considerably in wins. She has hit .239 in the team’s losses compared to .361 in the wins.
• Robinson averages 1.38 blocks per set in wins and the team combined averages 2.64.

WHEN THE GAMECOCKS LOSE…

• The defense is allowing opponents to hit .297 in losses. Dating back to last season, the team is 35-2 when out-hitting its opponents, 3-16 when it does not.
• Opponents have exploited the serve game to an extreme degree in losses, with 38 more total aces than Carolina and over a full ace per set more (1.91 to 0.76) while committing just 12 more errors
• The left side attack has scuffled in losses, with the current trio of McKenzie Moorman, Jess Vastine and Britt McLean combining for a .114 hitting percentage and 3.45 kills per set.

EDWARDS PEAKING IN SENIOR CAMPAIGN
Year four has been a good one for Claire Edwards, who is on pace for a career year on offense and defense. With two matches to play in the regular season, Edwards is averaging highs for points per set (2.41) and hitting percentage (.315) and has a new personal best for aces (17) and blocks (97) in a single season. The Columbia, S.C. native also earned SEC Defensive Player of the Week honors in September, the first weekly honor of her career.

SERVING GAME REMAINS FOCAL POINT IN 2019
Despite bringing back all six position players for the fall, South Carolina had to replace a key member of last year’s tournament team. Libero Aubrey Ezell graduated as the program’s third-ranked contributor for service aces, pitching in 212 during her four years on campus, including a career-high 75 last fall. Her career total was double that of any other member during the program’s rally-scoring era, and she guided 2018’s team to its highest combined ace total since 2006 (173). Of the six starters returning this year (Edwards, Koehler, McLean, Robinson, Shields, Vastine), only Shields and Koehler currently have career ace totals above 60.

After a slow start to the season, the team has stabilized both its serve and serve reception games as conference play enters the home stretch. In non-conference play, the team committed 115 service errors (2.56 per set) and yielded 1.67 aces per set to opponents. Through 16 SEC matches, the team is still committing a healthy amount of errors, but have jumped to a higher aces per set average (1.20).

Individually, three Gamecocks have surpassed their previous single-season highs for aces: Shields (37 this season, previous high of 29), Vastine (24 this season, previous high of 11), and Edwards (17 this season, previous high of 14).

PROGRAM GREAT CALLY PLUMMER ENSHRINED in 2019 HALL OF FAME CLASS
Volleyball alumna Cally Plummer (1998-2002) was inducted as part of the nine-member class for the 2019 University of South Carolina Athletics Hall of Fame on Thursday, Oct. 17. She is the fourth member of the program to be honored, and one of just 187 members total across all sports in the Hall of Fame’s 52-year history. Plummer is one of just four Gamecocks in program history to be a four-time All-SEC performer. As a right-side attacker, Plummer is still the program’s all time in career aces, and ranks fifth in career kills and sixth in career attacks. For her career she finished with 1,295 kills, 233 aces, 956 digs, and 270 blocks, and the Gamecocks made the NCAA tournament in all four of her seasons on the court. Previous alumnae in the Hall of Fame are Ashley Edlund (1995-98), Heather Larkin (1994-97) and Shonda Wallace (Cole) (2003-06).

ALL TIME RECORDS

• South Carolina holds an 835-650 (.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 203-277 (.417). The 200th SEC win came on Nov. 8 at Mississippi State.
• In matches in the Carolina Volleyball Center, Carolina is 210-115 (.648) overall and 107-98 (.525) 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 85-38.