Gamecocks Tame Tigers in Non-Conference Finale
CLEMSON, S.C. – South Carolina volleyball closed its non-conference schedule in style Friday night, taking down Clemson in straight sets to pick up a point in the Palmetto Series, presented by the South Carolina Education Lottery. Riley Whitesides led the team with 18 kills, including big swings in sets one and three to lock in the win, 34-32, 25-16, 25-23. The Gamecocks move to 9-2 entering SEC play and have won eight of the last nine meetings with the Tigers (6-3).
1st SET: The match opened with a game fit for the rivalry, as the Gamecocks came out on top by a 34-32 score. There would be nine ties and six lead changes AFTER the set reached the standard 25 points and the set would take almost a full hour to decide. The two teams combined for 10 different set-point opportunities, four for Clemson six for the Gamecocks, with the sixth and final chance ending with back-to-back Tiger errors.
The Gamecocks seemed to be rolling after a strong offensive showing on Tuesday night at home against East Carolina, starting the set with kills on five of their first six total attacks before facing some adversity. Holding an 11-8 lead, Carolina saw its starting setter, Sarah Jordan, exit with an injury. The team was forced to adjust its offense and burn substitutions that would be valuable later on in the set. The offense leaned heavily on Alayna Johnson, who took 15 of the team’s first 26 swings and 23 total in the game. Despite the injury taking the offense out of its comfort zone, the Gamecocks were able to keep some distance on the Tigers, who cut the lead down to 16-15 before a service error and ace from Riley Whitesides pushed the lead back out to 19-15.
Clemson pushed again late, pulling within one after an ace to make it 23-22. Whitesides’ second kill of the opener brought set point at 24-22, but the Tigers used a 3-0 run to flip the scoreboard and give the home side their first set point. Whitesides would be clutch late, getting kills to deny Clemson set point chances at 30-29 and 31-30. Out of the 32-all score, the Tigers served long and then went long on an attack for the final margin.
2nd SET: With more than a full set of action to adjust to the new offensive system, the Gamecocks had a strong start in set two and rode it to a 25-16 win. The team built a 15-10 lead early with 10 kills on its first 16 swings with a number of hitters contributing to the attack. Clemson was only able to score two points in a row four different times but could string together no more as the Gamecocks pushed away. After finishing with no blocks in set one, the team got a pair from Oby Anadi and held the Tigers to just 11 kills and a .152 hitting percentage compared to 15 and a .429 percentage for the Gamecocks.
3rd SET: Unforced errors stunted the Carolina momentum in set three, Clemson would lead early but the Gamecocks pushed back ahead before the first break of the set, up 15-14. The Tigers made a run to threaten to extend the match, scoring a 6-2 run out of the timeout, but their bid was ultimately denied by Whitesides. The Upstate native put away three kills in a row to tie the score at 20, she added two more kills after that to push her set total to nine and her match total to 18 and got the team level at 23. The Gamecocks sealed the comeback win with a Johnson’s 14th kill of the night followed by a combo block by Ellie Ruprich and Campbell Paris.
NOTABLE
- The Gamecocks are 6-4 at Clemson since the start of the 2000s, compared to 8-0 at home in that same stretch. The last two trips to Jervey Gym ended in five-set matches, with each team winning once. The Tigers’ home facility has undergone major renovations since Carolina’s last visit in 2022 including adding 15 feet to the ceiling and installing a new video board, locker rooms and lounges.
- This is South Carolina’s first road sweep in the rivalry since 2017.
- The offense needed to adjust on the fly after starting setter Sarah Jordan left with an injury with the Gamecocks ahead 11-8 in the first set. The team shifted to a two-setter offense with junior Kimmie Thompson and sophomore Sydney Floyd stepping into the role, the duo combined for 35 assists and 11 digs in the 2+ sets played.
- The team’s 34-32 win in the first set is tied for the highest score in a single set under head coach Tom Mendoza, matched twice prior (Sept. 9, 2022 vs. Cincinnati, Nov. 30, 2018 vs. Colorado).
- Whitesides’ 18 kills mark her fifth game in a row with 15 or more kills and seventh game overall in 2024. She passed Mikayla Robinson (2017-21) on the program’s career kills list in the win, now with 1,180.
- Freshman libero Victoria Harris finished with a team-high 18 kills in the three sets, her sixth game with 15+ digs this fall.
UP NEXT: Conference play awaits South Carolina, with some time to spare. The Gamecocks open SEC action at home on Sept. 27 with a 7 p.m. match against Mississippi State. The seven-day break between games will be the team’s longest stretch to date this fall.
QUOTABLE: TOM MENDOZA
