Gamecock Volleyball Welcomes Texas A&M for Mid-Week Series

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Fresh off a sweep of Mississippi State last Thursday and Friday, South Carolina volleyball caps a jam-packed home stand with a pair of matches against Texas A&M (4-4) on Wednesday and Thursday. Both games will start at 7 p.m., Wednesday will be on the SEC Network’s national broadcast and Thursday will be on the SEC Network+ web stream. The Gamecocks take a 9-3 overall record into the week, riding a five-game win streak.

MISSISSIPPI STATE NOTABLES

• This is now back-to-back seasons with a five-game winning streak in SEC play. The team hadn’t had a streak that long prior to that since 2002.
• With the win last Friday night, South Carolina is now 14-3 in five-set matches under head coach Tom Mendoza.
• Mississippi State was able to find success when shutting down Mikayla Robinson and Kyla Manning in Friday’s series finale. In the three sets won, the duo combined for 21 kills. In the two sets lost, that number plummeted to six.
• South Carolina blocked just five balls for the night, the second-lowest total of the season behind only its three-set loss to No. 4 Florida on Nov. 11.
• Ellie Ruprich made her case for SEC Freshman of the Week after combining for 20 kills on just 34 swings and two total errors in the eight sets against the Bulldogs.
• Just to show how efficient South Carolina’s offense was on Thursday compared to Friday, Mallory Dixon had 49 assists in five sets Friday compared to 37 over three sets on Thursday.
• Camilla Covas set a personal best with five aces in the match. The sophomore also added 15 digs. Freshman Caitlin Crawford also pitched in a pair of aces off the bench for Carolina. 
• The team’s best hitting percentage this season prior to Thursday night was .323, coming in the season opener at Georgia Oct. 17. In 95 total attacks on Thursday, the Gamecocks committed just six unforced attacking errors.
• Mallory Dixon spearheaded the team’s attack as a six-rotation setter, finishing with 37 assists, seven digs, two aces and two blocks.
• In the second set, the team was able to see 14 different players take part. Highlighting the bench’s effort was a kill from Kiune Fletcher, two digs from Janna Schlageter and a pair of kills from Kylee Stokes.

QUOTABLE: TOM MENDOZA
On the message to the team after falling behind early in the fifth set vs. Mississippi State
“Just try to focus on contact by contact and don’t look at the scoreboard, don’t create a narrative of how the night is going. Just move your feet, get your feet to the ball, put a good contact on the ball and put your teammates in a good situation and I think when we started really focusing on some really small process-oriented contacts things started getting easier for us… Once we finally started making some of those adjustments in set five we were putting our teammates in a little bit better situation. That was hopefully a big learning experience for all of our players.”

SCOUTING TEXAS A&M
This will be the first competition of the spring for the Aggies, who lost their opening weekend after Auburn opted out for the season and had to postpone last week’s home series with Tennessee due to positive COVID-19 tests and contract tracing within A&M. It’s a topsy-turvy start to the spring off the court after a fall season where the Aggies started on a four-game win streak but ended with four losses in a row. The offense has a deep roster of talent, led by senior setter Camille Conner and four different hitters averaging two or more kills per set, but the defense has been the strong suit for the Aggies. The team ranks in the top four of the conference in opponent hitting percentage, digs and blocks – all of which out-pace the Gamecocks.

TRENDING TOPICS
In the first two series of the spring…

• The team is out-hitting opponents, .278 to .178 and averaging over two kills per set more (13.5-11.2). Kyla Manning has been the sparkplug on offense, averaging 3.41 kills per set with a .268 hitting percentage – up almost 100 percentage points from her fall total (.172).
• The offense has been spread out, with five hitters already over 30 kills through the four games. Mallory Dixon has solidified her role in the offense, averaging 9.41 assists in that span compared to 6.45 as a setter in a primarily two-setter offense.
• The team’s blocking numbers have dipped off an ambitious pace in the fall. Through four games, the team has 36 total blocks, three fewer than its opponents. Mikayla Robinson leads with 17 blocks, Ellie Ruprich comes second with 13.
• The team has won five straight SEC matches heading into the week. The previous best streaks were six games in 2019, 10 games in 2002, six games in 2001 and seven games in 2000.

ROBINSON AND RUPRICH GO BACK-TO-BACK WITH SEC HONORS
Senior Mikayla Robinson and freshman Ellie Ruprich have been recognized with weekly honors from the Southeastern Conference in the opening two weeks of spring. Robinson totaled 12 blocks and added 21 kills over eight sets played, helping the Gamecocks win back-to-back road matches over Alabama and was named Defensive Player of the Week on Feb. 1. It is Robinson’s fifth weekly award from the SEC, setting a program record for most in a career. Ruprich earned her honors from the offensive side, averaging 2.50 kills per set and hitting .529 in the series against Mississippi State to claim Freshman of the Week honors on Feb. 8. Ruprich becomes the first Gamecock ever to be a Freshman of the Week twice in a single season. Through its six weekend series, South Carolina now has four weekly awards this season, one off the program record set by the 2019 squad.

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 fourth-most votes in the full top-25 rankings released Feb. 8.

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 35 blocks shy of the program’s rally-scoring-era record for total blocks in a career, is eight blocks shy of 400 total blocks 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: TOM MENDOZA
On Senior 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 7.54 assists per set and ranks third with 2.15 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 (146), ranks second in digs (2.22 per set) and has just one error in 192 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 spring season, averaging 2.35 kills per set with a .375 hitting percentage.

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 3.41 digs per set with seven service aces this spring.

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 81.3 percent of the team’s serve receptions and have committed just 21 errors together in 697 total chances – a reception percentage of .969. Among that group are newcomers Kyla Manning and Riley Whitesides, 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 .266 to .171. The left-side attack is the key with Kyla Manning and Riley Whitesides hitting .247 in wins with a combined total of 6.43 kills per set.
• Interestingly, the production of the team’s middles flip-flop in wins versus losses. Mikayla Robinson‘s offense is only 2.53 kills per set with a .317 hitting percentage in wins but rises to 3.18 and .338 in losses. Ellie Ruprich averages 1.77 kills per set with a .356 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 75 or more digs and four different members with 20 or more total blocks in the nine wins.
• Keeping their side of the net clean pays benefits for the Gamecocks. Over the 35 sets in the nine wins, the team has just three more blocks than opponents, but has committed 32 fewer total attack errors.

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 26-6 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 41-4 when winning the first set.
• In five-set matches, the team holds an 14-3 record. In the three years prior, the Gamecocks were just 7-8 in five-setters.
• The offense has out-hit opponents 48 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 36-4 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 22-18 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 846-655 (.563) 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 213-280 (.432). The 200th SEC win came on Nov. 8, 2019 at Mississippi State.
• In matches in the Carolina Volleyball Center, Carolina is 216-117 (.649) overall and 113-100 (.530) 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 96-43 and a record of 49-25 at South Carolina. He has led his respective teams to the NCAA tournament in all four years as a head coach.