Volleyball Closes Opening Weekend with 3-0 Loss to No. 9 Pitt

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina volleyball closed its Carolina Classic home tournament Saturday night, dropping a 3-0 decision to No. 9 Pittsburgh (3-0). The Gamecocks end the opening weekend of the season with a 2-1 record, with both wins coming against top-25-ranked opponents. Lauren McCutcheon led the team in kills for the second time in as many matches, totaling seven on the night.
 
SET ONE: With a raucous crowd leading them, the Gamecocks played the Panthers close early in the match, but the visitors used a big run late for a 25-16 win. Pitt took control of the lead with a 5-1 run that broke an 8-all tie, but pulled away late with seven of the last eight points. The Pitt blocker set a tone that carried through the night, pushing back six Gamecock attacks to hold the home side to just nine kills in the set.
 
SET TWO: It was a similar story and similar score in set two; Pitt’s block remained stout and its serve game kept South Carolina off balance in a 25-16 final to make it 2-0 in favor of the Panthers. The teams traded big runs early, but the Panther offense pushed them to the finish line on a 13-5 run to close the set. South Carolina committed eight unforced errors in the set and hit just .042 with six kills as a group. 
 
SET THREE: The third set would be the tightest of the match, with the Gamecocks recording almost as many kills in the third (13) as they did in the first two sets combined (15). Both sides held multi-point leads early, but the Panthers took control after separating from a 10-10 set with a 5-2 run. The Panthers pushed ahead to 24-20, but the crowd of 1,875 ralled their home side back for a 3-0 run that was sparked by a combo block from McCutcheon and Ellie Ruprich. Looking to push the set beyond 25, the Gamecocks were denied with a final Pitt kill to make it 25-23.
 
NOTABLE

• The crowd of 1,875 was the fifth-largest in the history of the Carolina Volleyball Center. Three of the five biggest crowds in the facility’s history have come during head coach Tom Mendoza’s tenure.
• Mikayla Robinson ended the weekend with 34 kills and a .410 hitting percentage on offense, also adding 14 blocks on the defensive side.
• In her first weekend as a Gamecock, McCutcheon proved to be worth the hype as the reigning South Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year. The freshman ended with 29 kills, four aces, 23 digs and eight blocks over 12 sets.

UP NEXT
The team will remain at home for its next action, hosting the Palmetto Showdown from Sept. 2-3. South Carolina will play two matches against UCF (1-2), one at 7 p.m. on Sept. 2, the second on Sept. 3 at 7:30 p.m. The Gamecocks make their national TV debut on Friday, Sept. 3 at 1 p.m. when they host rival Clemson (2-0). The match will air on the SEC Network.