Spring Home Schedule Begins Thursday for Gamecock Volleyball

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina volleyball (7-3) begins a stretch of four home games in a week when it hosts Mississippi State (2-6) on Thursday and Friday. Both games are scheduled for 7 p.m. in the Carolina Volleyball Center and will air on the SEC Network+ online stream. The Gamecocks began the spring season last weekend with a pair of road wins at Alabama, and looks to increase their current three-game win streak over Mississippi State.

Volleyball’s home events will have a reduced seating capacity that does not allow for general admission ticketing again this spring. Based on the Sporting Event Exemption plan that was approved by the Department of Commerce in July, the Carolina Volleyball Center is permitted to open with a reduced capacity, but it will not be able to accommodate outside fan attendance.

ALABAMA NOTABLES

• The team’s current five-game win streak over Alabama is the longest in the all-time series. The previous best spanned from 2000-2002.
• South Carolina is 2-0 in five-set matches so far this season, with both wins coming after trailing 2-1 in the match. The Gamecocks came into today 0-2 when losing the first set of a match this year. Under coach Tom Mendoza, the team is 13-3 in five-set matches. In the decade prior to his arrival, the Gamecocks were 26-26 in five-setters.
• Kyla Manning‘s 20 kills at Alabama on Jan. 30 are a personal best for her at South Carolina, and trails only Riley Whitesides‘ 23 kills against Florida on Nov. 12 for most by a Gamecock this season.
• Camilla Covas had an all-around solid day as the team’s libero on Jan. 30, with 20 digs, two service aces and four assists. Since taking over the libero role against Auburn on Oct. 29, Covas is averaging team highs in digs per set (3.96) and aces per set (0.36), and has a .976 serve reception percentage over 164 total receptions.
• The Gamecock defense’s 11 blocks in the Jan. 30 rematch marks the sixth time in 10 matches that the team posted double-digit blocks, including three straight games dating back to the fall.
• Courtney Weber returned to action last weekend after missing the final five matches of the fall, and dished out 22 assists with nine digs in Friday’s four-set win. Both are new career bests for the redshirt sophomore.
• Mikayla Robinson‘s eight total blocks (two solo) in the Jan. 29 win is a season high for the senior.
• In three career games against Alabama, sophomore McKenzie Moorman has 32 kills on 52 swings with just five total errors – good for a .519 hitting percentage. Moorman had 20 kills in the team’s nine sets over the weekend. 

QUOTABLE
Head Coach Tom Mendoza on Kyla Manning’s performance to lead a five-set comeback at Alabama…
“We’ve been managing her reps, it’s a long season playing back to back but when you’re six-rotation outside there’s not a whole lot we can do as far as protecting her reps if she has to carry a workload for us and, you know, she wants that. She did it at a high level, her all-around game was really good. She was affecting the game early with her block, then her attacking going, her serve receiving was probably one of the more consistent we had today. It’s fun to be a six-rotation outside but there’s a little bit of ‘careful what you wish for’ because we’re asking a lot out of her.”

SCOUTING MISSISSIPPI STATE
The Bulldogs are 2-6 so far this season, missing out on last weekend’s action after their matches against Georgia were cancelled due to COVID-19 issues within the Georgia program. The team had arguably two of the biggest results of any SEC team in the fall, upsetting Texas A&M twice on the road. It was the first two wins ever over the Aggies, and was State’s first win against a ranked opponent since 2011. Those two upsets were powered by junior Gabby Waden, a microcosm of an outstanding fall season for the Columbia, S.C. native. She finished with 121 kills in 33 sets, all while hitting .307 and taking 50 more swings than anyone else on the roster. A handful of transfers are also going to be key for the Bulldogs this fall. Jessica Kemp (N.C. State) led the team in blocks in the fall, Lauren Myrick (Lipscomb) and Logan Brown (Arkansas) finished second and third in kills, respectively, and Margaret Dean (Stephen F. Austin) and Gabby Coulter (Marshall) are expected to run the offense as its setters.

ROBINSON COLLECTS RECORD-SETTING HONOR FROM SEC
Senior Mikayla Robinson shared Defensive Player of the Week honors from the Southeastern Conference on Feb. 1. Robinson totaled 12 blocks and added 21 kills over eight sets played, helping the Gamecocks win back-to-back road matches over Alabama. It is Robinson’s fifth weekly award from the SEC, setting a program record for most in a career, and she is the third different member of the team to win a weekly award so far this season (joining Ellie Ruprich and Riley Whitesides).

In a four-set win Jan. 29, she was limited offensively but more than made up for it with a season-high eight total blocks (two solo) to limit the Alabama offense to just a .141 hitting percentage. The performance also moved her up to seventh in program history for career block assists (311) and total blocks (383). In the Jan. 30 rematch, her defense and offense combined for a clutch effort in the team’s five-set comeback win against the Crimson Tide. In her four sets of action, Robinson hit .364 with 13 kills and added four more blocks –including two more solo. Those solo blocks moved her into a tie for sixth in program history, most by any Gamecock since 1993.

STATUS QUO IN THE CLASSROOM
While the fall schedule was far from normal on the court, the Gamecocks were business as usual when it came to academics. The group finished the semester with a combined 3.518 GPA in the fall, with five individuals earning 4.0 GPAs and five more breaking the 3.5 barrier to make the university’s Dean’s List. South Carolina is going on 10 consecutive seasons on the AVCA’s Team Academic Award list and have put double-digit student-athletes on the SEC’s Fall Academic Honor Roll for five years in a row.

GAMECOCKS RETURN TO THE NATIONAL POLLS
South Carolina earned the No. 15 ranking in the AVCA’s Nov. 4 coaches poll, and moved as high as 13th after wrapping up the fall schedule. The Nov. 4 poll was the program’s first appearance in the rankings since Dec. 2, 2002, earning the No. 24 spot in a season where it finished with a 23-7 record and made the second round of the NCAA tournament. On the current roster, four Gamecocks were born in the year 2002. The program’s highest ranking ever was 17th, which came on Oct. 1, 2001. While the fall ranking came in higher, the fall coaches poll ranked only the top 15 teams in the country based on the conferences competing – the ACC, Big 12, SEC, and Sun Belt. In the AVCA’s first spring poll, the Gamecocks were receiving the third-most votes in the full top-25 rankings released Feb. 1.

SNAPPING A SIGNIFICANT STREAK
The fall slate ended on the highest note for the Gamecocks, who upset No. 4 Florida in five sets on Nov. 12. It broke an inauspicious streak, as the Gators had taken the previous 24 matches in the series – dating all the way back to 2006. South Carolina’s longest losing streak of all time spanned 16 years and 25 matches, coming against Georgia.

ROBINSON POISED FOR All-AMERICAN CAMPAIGN
Mikayla Robinson has always been one to let her game talk for her, and as she winds down her senior season, the conversation is growing around her. On Oct. 8, she made the nine-woman preseason All-SEC team, building off a career year in 2019 that culminated in her first All-Southeast Region Team honor from the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) and her second year in a row making the postseason All-SEC team. Before its cancellation due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Robinson had also earned a spot on the U.S. Women’s Volleyball Collegiate National Team’s gold roster, which was scheduled to train and compete side-by-side with the U.S. Women’s National Team ahead of the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.

Currently, Robinson is just 40 blocks shy of the program’s rally-scoring-era record for total blocks in a career and is already in the program’s top 10 for kills and points scored in the era (since 2001). Nationally, she ranks second in the country for career solo blocks and ninth in career total blocks among active players.

QUOTABLE
Head Coach Tom Mendoza on Mikayla Robinson…
“I can’t think of very many student-athletes I’ve worked with that have had the growth over time that Robbie has had. She’s been a leader from a production standpoint because she’s a really good volleyball player, but to see her grow into someone her teammates and coaches refer to as a leader is impressive and I’m happy for her. She would let other people take that lead in the past and take a backseat but now she’s taking ownership of the group and that’s exciting to see.”

REFILLING THE BOX SCORE IN 2020
The Gamecocks have a good deal of seniority to replace after turning over the 2019 roster into the 2020-21 campaign. Gone are three seniors who started in over 100 matches in their time at Carolina (Claire Edwards, Courtney Koehler and Mikayla Shields) as well as two-year contributors Addie Bryant and Brittany McLean and four-year letterwinner Alicia Starr. Statistically, South Carolina graduated 59 percent of its kills, 77 percent of its aces, 73 percent of its digs and 59 percent of its total points scored from 2019’s roster.

GRADUATE DUO MAKING AN IMPACT FOR CAROLINA
With such a large graduating class for the Gamecocks in 2019, the coaching staff turned to a pair of graduate transfers in the signing period to add some veteran experience to a locker room that features 11 players in either their freshman or sophomore years. 

Mallory Dixon spent four year with Wisconsin, appearing in 20 matches in her first three seasons before sitting out the fall of 2019. She had plenty of postseason experience in Madison, making deep runs in the tournament highlighted by reaching the championship in 2019 and the regional final in 2018. Dixon took on the back-row setting role and leads the team with 6.87 assists per set and ranks second with 2.18 digs per set.

Kyla Manning moves to South Carolina after a stellar career at Coastal Carolina, and will carry on a family legacy as a Gamecock. Manning is the daughter of Barry Manning, who played in 121 games for the South Carolina men’s basketball team from 1989-92. In her three seasons as a Chanticleer, she totaled over 800 kills, 450 digs and 50 aces, and earned all-conference honors in 2018 and 2019. Her success has continued in the Garnet and Black, as she leads the team in kills (118), ranks third in digs (2.11 per set) and is perfect in 172 serve receptions so far this season.

FRESHMEN CLASS BOOSTS DEPTH
Eight newcomers, including six freshmen, joined the roster in the fall and provided an immediate lift. All six freshman saw playing time, with Riley Whitesides and Ellie Ruprich planting themselves in the starting lineup from opening day and leading the team in major categories (Whitesides in kills, Ruprich in blocks). Not only did the duo pace the team, but Ruprich also ranked third overall nationally in blocks per set and Whitesides finished fifth among NCAA freshmen in kills per set during the fall.

The coaching staff also has high hopes for fellow freshmen Caitlin Crawford, Kiune Fletcher and Janna Schlageter. All three were able to see the court in the fall, with both Crawford and Fletcher enjoying increased action as the eight-game portion wrapped up.

NOTHING SOPH-T ABOUT THEM
Despite the senior-laden 2019 roster, the Gamecocks were able to get key in-game reps to a big group of freshmen who are now prepping for a larger role going into their sophomore campaigns. Holly Eastridge came in as a front-row option on the right and proved to be a capable blocker and sneaky southpaw hitter in 2019. After a strong but abbreviated spring, she stepped into the lineup in the fall and ranked fourth on the team in kills and second in blocks over the eight matches.

The Gamecock coaches credit McKenzie Moorman‘s late season surge as a key to the team’s postseason berth, as the outside hitter averaged 3.14 kills per set over a two week span that led to five-straight wins from Oct. 25 to Nov. 10. She stepped up big in the team’s first spring series, posting 20 total kills in the nine sets at Alabama

Camilla Covas and Kylee Stokes did not see as much time on the court in 2019, but both impressed the staff against high-level opponents during their freshmen campaigns. Covas earned the starting libero role on Oct. 29 against Auburn and is averaging 3.96 digs per set with 10 service aces and just two serve reception error on 103 attempts since then.

SERVICE (RECEPTION) WITH A SMILE
Despite a lineup that features four new starters and a new libero, South Carolina’s coaching staff has been pleased with the instant chemistry of its serve defense in the fall. The Gamecocks have three individuals who have accounted for 78.5 percent of the team’s serve receptions and have committed just 13 errors together in 558 total chances – a reception percentage of .977. Among that group are newcomers Riley Whitesides and Kyla Manning, who also play all six rotations and rank first and second on the team in kills, respectively, and Camilla Covas – who took over libero duties four games into the fall.

KIUNE’S CRAZY JOURNEY TO COLUMBIA
The outbreak of the Coronavirus had an unintended effect on Kiune Fletcher‘s journey to becoming a Gamecock. Signing with the team in November out of Trinidad and Tobago, Fletcher found herself unable to come stateside to join her teammates in August. The U.S. embassy on the island was closed due to the virus, and even after it reopened, flights leaving were few and far between. Fletcher finally joined the team in the second week of September, just days before a NCAA deadline that would have ruled her ineligible to compete for the year. Fletcher brings a unique story to the team. She follows in the footsteps of her cousin, Mikayla Shields, who told the coaching staff about her and recommended she come to a South Carolina summer camp while visiting family in the states. Fletcher 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.

THOMPSON ENDS HER COLLEGE CAREER IN STYLE
Joining the team as a walk-on in 2018, Kaely Ann Thompson trained as a serve specialist for her first two seasons but found a new role in the fall of 2020. The Greenville, S.C. native stepped into a the team’s back-row setter position after starter Courtney Weber was put into COVID-19 contact-tracing quarantine just three games into the fall. Thompson totaled 3.81 assists and 1.31 digs per set in the three-rotation setting role, with her career capped by a memorable fall finale against No. 4 Florida. After celebrating her senior ceremony, Thompson went out and had a career-high 31 assists with five digs in the team’s 3-2 win over the Gators – which snapped a 24-game losing streak to Florida. Thompson graduated in December with a degree in exercise science.

VASTINE FINISHES HER CAROLINA CAREER ON THE BEACH
Senior Jess Vastine capped her time with the indoor in the fall, moving to her regular spring role with the beach volleyball team. Vastine is the first student-athlete at South Carolina to participate in indoor and beach volleyball for all four years on campus, totaling 96 matches played on the court and enters the spring with 61 career starts in the lineup for beach volleyball. The Wittman, Arizona native peaked as a junior, setting career highs in every major statistical category while appearing in all 114 of the team’s sets. With 209 kills and 228 digs in 2019, she is just the fourth different player in the last 10 years to crack 200 in both categories in a single season. She helped turn the program around after a coaching change following her freshman season, playing a pivotal role in the team’s back-to-back runs to the NCAA tournament.

WHEN THE GAMECOCKS WIN…

• The team is out-hitting the opposition .252 to .162. The left-side attack is the key with Kyla Manning and Riley Whitesides hitting .247 in wins with a combined total of 6.70 kills per set.
• Interestingly, the production of the team’s middles flip-flop in wins versus losses. Mikayla Robinson‘s offense is only 2.62 kills per set with a .300 hitting percentage in wins but rises to 3.18 and .338 in losses. Ellie Ruprich averages 1.56 kills per set with a .296 hitting percentage in wins, but dips to 1.40 kills and a .225 percentage in losses.
• The defense is spread evenly in winning efforts; the team has four individuals with 60 or more digs within the seven wins, and also has four different members with 20 or more total blocks.
• Keeping their side of the net clean pays benefits for the Gamecocks. Over the 27 sets in the seven wins, the team has committed 6.1 unforced errors per set compared to 7.45 in the three losses.

WHEN THE GAMECOCKS LOSE…

• The defense is allowing opponents to hit .311 in the three losses losses. Under Coach Tom Mendoza, the team has won only three matches where it recorded a lower hitting percentage than its opponent.
• Opponents have exploited the serve game to an extreme degree in losses, averaging almost a full ace per set more (1.36 to 0.65) while committing about the same errors (26, compared to 25 for Carolina).
• The left side attack has scuffled in losses, with Manning and Whitesides combining for a .081 hitting percentage and 4.81 kills per set.
• Opponents only have three more total blocks than Carolina in the three Gamecock defeats, but South Carolina averages 3.18 unforced attacking errors per set in losses.

MENDOZA’S TRENDING TOPICS
In Head Coach Tom Mendoza’s tenure with the team…

• Home is where the heart is. The Gamecocks are 24-6 at the Carolina Volleyball Center in Mendoza’s first two seasons. The team had lost five or more home matches for nine consecutive seasons before 2018.
• September has been the team’s best month, combining for a 17-3 mark in the two seasons. The highlight came in 2018 with a perfect 9-0 record in September, the first Gamecock squad since 1983 to do so.
• South Carolina steps up big on Sundays, with a combined 15-4 record on that day of the week.
• Start fast! The Gamecocks are 39-4 when winning the first set.
• In five-set matches, the team holds an 13-3 record. In the three years prior, the Gamecocks were just 7-8 in five-setters.
• The offense has out-hit opponents 46 times and have lost just two times when recording a higher hitting percentage.
• Aces have been a key to victory; in the two seasons under Mendoza, the Gamecocks are 34-4 when matching or surpassing the opposition in aces. It takes high risk to earn aces, but even in games where it committed more service errors, the Gamecocks still own a 21-18 record.
• Finding success away from home is trending up. Under Mendoza, the Gamecocks are 23-19 in road or neutral matches. In the five seasons prior to that, they were 30-46 (.395). In 2019 the team’s combined record away from home was 10-9, the first time being over .500 away from home in back-to-back seasons since 2001-02.

ALL TIME RECORDS

• South Carolina holds an 844-655 (.562) all-time record, dating back to 1973. The team’s 800th win came on Aug. 25, 2018 against Clemson.
• The Gamecocks joined the SEC for volleyball in 1991, and have an all-time conference record of 211-280 (.427). The 200th SEC win came on Nov. 8, 2019 at Mississippi State.
• In matches in the Carolina Volleyball Center, Carolina is 214-117 (.647) overall (.646) and 111-100 (.526) in SEC matches. The CVC’s 200th win came on Nov. 16, 2018 against Ole Miss.
• Tom Mendoza became the program’s 13th head coach on Jan. 3, 2018. This is his fifth season overall as a head coach, with a career record of 94-43 and a record of 47-25 at South Carolina. He has led his teams to the NCAA tournament in all four years as a head coach.