Volleyball Drops Series Finale to Texas A&M

COLUMBIA, S.C. – For the first time this season, South Carolina volleyball finds itself with back-to-back losses after losing in four sets to Texas A&M (6-4) on Thursday night. Kyla Manning had a full stat line, leading the team with 17 kills, 13 digs and four aces, but Carolina’s offense hit just .178 overall to drop to 9-5 for the season.

SET ONE: Just a few hours removed from allowing six aces in the fourth set of Wednesday’s loss, the Gamecocks were able to exact some revenge behind the service line and opened the match with a 25-17 win. The offense needed just 12 kills, as the team scored six of its first 15 points of the set off service aces – Manning and Mallory Dixon had two apiece – and the lead grew as large as nine points, 16-7. Along with her scoring on serve, Manning added four kills without an error and Mikayla Robinson added three kills on just four swings while also posting three blocks.
 
SET TWO: Success on serve continued to set two, but South Carolina’s offensive success did not. The team wasn’t able to run its offense, totaling just eight kills and a .043 hitting percentage in a 25-16 loss. Texas A&M had zero attack errors and hit .542, helping it overcome six service errors. The set started close, but the Aggies broke away with an 8-3 run to turn a 12-11 lead into a 20-14 game. Manning had three of the eight total kills, but the other Carolina hitters had six errors and just five kills.
 
SET THREE: The script flipped in the third game, South Carolina’s offense rebounded to post more kills and a higher hitting percentage than Texas A&M but fell 25-21 thanks to the serve game. The Aggies built an 11-6 lead early, but the Gamecocks responded to tie the score back up at 14 thanks to a streak of seven kills by five different hitters. The momentum was broken by a service error followed immediately by a Aggie service ace, and the visitors would lead from there on out. In a four-point final margin, the Gamecocks were hurt by three service errors without an ace while A&M had two aces without committing a single error. It clouded a tremendous effort from Riley Whitesides in the set; the freshman piled up seven kills in set three after finishing with seven total in Wednesday night’s opener.
 
SET FOUR: In a running theme throughout the series, Texas A&M was able to string together small runs again in the fourth set that gave the visitors a 25-21 decision to close the match. South Carolina held the lead early, 10-6, helped by aces from Camilla Covas and Caitlin Crawford, but the offense lost its flow in a pair of runs that would flip the score in A&M’s favor. Trailing 14-10, the Aggies used a pair of aces to power a 8-1 run and would not trail again in the match. Manning did her best to try and spark a rally, scoring three kills among the team’s final four points in the game, but the Gamecocks could not get the run they needed to extend the match.

UP NEXT
The team will have its first break of the spring, getting nine days before being back in action. A span of four matches in a row against nationally ranked opponents begins Feb. 20-21 with a road series at current No. 3 Kentucky. The two matches are scheduled for 4 p.m. first serves.