Volleyball Loses at Arkansas

FAYETTEVILLE, ARK. – South Carolina volleyball (12-9) dropped its final scheduled match of the 2020-21 season Saturday night, losing in straight sets at Arkansas (14-8). The Gamecocks were led by Kyla Manning’s 16 kills and .361 hitting percentage and Camilla Covas’ 17 digs and four service aces. 
 
SET ONE: Arkansas dictated the momentum of the opening game, taking a modest lead early and extending it out to grab an early advantage with a 25-22 win. The Razorbacks trailed just once in the set, at 2-1, and used an 8-2 run to grab their largest lead of the game at 21-14. South Carolina used a trio of kills from Kyla Manning from there to cut it within two, 22-20, but couldn’t pull off the comeback. Manning finished with five kills on nine swings without an error in the set, but Arkansas as a team out-hit South Carolina .379 to .235. 
 
SET TWO: The home side enjoyed another key run to decide set two, breaking away with a burst late to win it 25-20. The set was tied at 17 when Arkansas pieced together six unanswered points and closed it out, nullifying an otherwise competitive game. South Carolina worked its way back from a 10-5 deficit to take a 14-13 lead, but that run for the Razorbacks would be too much to overcome.
 
SET THREE: South Carolina jumped ahead hunting for an extension to the match, a block from Mikayla Robinson and Manning made it a 7-3 lead early. Arkansas chipped away at the lead and tied the score at 13-13, but blocks on three consecutive points spearheaded a run that gave the visiting Gamecocks a 20-17 lead. The Razorbacks responded with big blocks of their own in a 6-1 run that flipped the score back in their favor and closed the match out with a pair of kills.
 
NOTABLE

• With six total blocks Saturday night, Mikayla Robinson moved up to fifth in the program’s all-time record book for career blocks. The prolific senior’s 422 blocks moved her past Gamecock hall of famer Heather Larkin (1994-97) and puts her just five blocks behind Darian Dozier for the rally-scoring era record.
• With 35 kills in the two games, Kyla Manning now has 273 kills for the season. That puts her only behind Shonda Cole (2006) and Juliette Thevenin (2012) for most single-season kills in SEC matches.
• Camilla Covas’ four service aces gives her 27 for the season and marks the third game this season with four or more aces. Her 17 digs are the most in a three-set match for the team in 2020-21, and is the fourth-highest total overall.
• A night after committing just nine service errors in five sets, the Gamecocks had 11 errors in the three sets Saturday night. It’s the most in a three-set match this season, and the second-highest total in any game for South Carolina.

UP NEXT
The team’s schedule is complete, but the conference has built in an extra open week next weekend in case there are opportunities to make up matches affected by COVID-19 delays. Currently, South Carolina’s only postponed games this season was a road series at Kentucky. The SEC will announce any makeup games when they are determined.