Gamecocks Drop Five-Set Affair at Georgia
ATHENS, GA. – For the sixth time in its last 10 meetings, South Carolina and Georgia went the distance. The Gamecocks (9-5, 0-3 SEC) clawed back from a 2-0 set deficit on the road Friday night but came up just short against the Bulldogs (7-7, 1-3 SEC). The rally was powered by the trio of Riley Whitesides, Tireh Smith and Victoria Harris; Whitesides and Smith combined for 40 of the team’s 67 kills while Harris finished one dig shy of her career high, posting 22 along with three service aces.
1st SET: The Gamecocks played clean early to build modest lead in the opener, their first error came with a 10-8 lead after six errorless kills on 12 swings. The streak was broken right after, and Georgia took back the lead after three consecutive attacking errors from Carolina. The teams would trade points before the Georgia pulled away, scoring four unanswered points to take a 17-14 lead and the Gamecocks would not threaten again in a 25-18 final. After starting with six kills on its first 12 attacks, Carolina finished the set with six kills and seven errors on the following 16 swings while the home side stayed efficient, hitting .435 as a team. Riley Whitesides led the Gamecocks with five kills and two service aces in the opener.
2nd SET: Georgia’s blocking defense stepped up to build a big advantage early in the second, the Bulldogs had almost as many blocks (four) as South Carolina had kills (five) in an opening burst that built up a 15-8 lead. Georgia’s offense more than held their own, though, hitting .500 with the first attacking error of the set coming after they had already built a 22-15 lead. The Gamecocks finished with a 12-10 kill advantage, but were undone by 7.5 total blocks from Georgia and three service aces to go with a .348 hitting percentage by the home team for a 25-18 final and a 2-0 set lead.
3rd SET: The Gamecocks started well in a must-win third, Tireh Smith got the team in rhythm early with three consecutive kills for the game’s first points. The team fed off the energy from Smith and freshman libero Victoria Harris, who kept multiple rallies alive and finished with a game-high x digs in the third. South Carolina copied Georgia’s early recipe for success, hitting efficiently while letting the Bulldogs make unforced errors. The team’s biggest break came out of a 7-1 run to take an 18-14 lead, capped by two Georgia attack errors. The Bulldogs would rally back late, cutting the margin down to just one point on three occasions late, but the Gamecocks prevailed with Riley Whitesides putting down her 14th kill of the night for the 25-23 clincher.
4th SET: An error-filled start for Georgia was a boon for South Carolina, the Bulldogs fell behind 7-1 to start the fourth with four errors in the stretch – as many as Georgia had in combined in the first two sets of the match. The Gamecock offense remained locked-in, converting nine kills with just one error in their first 16 swings to push ahead to 15-8, Whitesides accounted for four of the nine kills. Georgia cut back into the Carolina lead again after shoring up its offense; after one kill and four errors in that opening 7-1 score, the Bulldogs did not commit another for the remainder of the set and powered back into contention late. Their big move came on an 8-3 run to tie the score at 20, but Smith put away back-to-back kills to keep the Gamecocks ahead, 22-20. Georgia tried to tie the score again, down 24-23, but Whitesides again shut the door. The pin’s sixth kill of set four clinched another 25-23 win and forced the team’s first five-set match of the fall.
5th SET: Georgia kept its error-free offense rolling into the final game, opening on a 6-2 run. The Bulldogs converted 11 of their 16 total attacks into kills to keep the Gamecocks from ever being in contention, closing the match with a 15-9 win.
NOTABLE
- Tireh Smith had a career night on the attack, the sophomore finished with a career-high 18 kills while hitting .314. Eleven of her kills came in the pivotal third and fourth sets to help the team rally back. It is her third match this season with double-digit kills and is the highest single-game kill total by a Gamecock right side hitter since Nov. 12, 2023 (18 games)
- South Carolina’s first block of the match came with the team down 24-17 in the second set. The Gamecocks finished with two total blocks, their lowest total of the season and fewest in a single game since Oct. 9, 2022 (2.0 at Tennessee).
- After a quiet start to the night, Victoria Harris came alive to power up the Gamecock rally. The freshman finished with 22 digs – one off her career high with 17 coming in sets three and four alone. It is her third 20-dig game of the season.
- Riley Whitesides led the offense with 22 kills, one off her career high. with three service aces, two coming in the first set. It is her fourth game this season with three or more aces. She is just the sixth Gamecock in the rally scoring era (since 2001) to reach 90 career aces.
- The offense moved to a two-setter system towards the end of set two, and the new look paid positive dividends. Substitutes Kimmie Thompson and Campbell Paris were key to the team’s rally, with Thompson passing out 18 assists with three digs and Paris adding eight kills on a .368 hitting percentage.
- South Carolina played its first five-set match of the season in its 14th game. This is the latest into a season the Gamecocks have played before going the distance in a game since at least 1983 (the first season where fully vetted record-keeping is available).
- Since head coach Tom Mendoza’s arrival in 2018, the Gamecocks and Bulldogs have gone to five sets in six of the 10 total matchups with each side winning three times.
- A Georgia program-record crowd of 8,376 were in attendance Friday night, it was also the largest crowd ever for a volleyball match in the state of Georgia.
QUOTABLE: HEAD COACH TOM MENDOZA: “I really liked the fight our team showed to come back. It was a great event to be a part of and we were grateful for Georgia for showcasing volleyball and all of the promotion surrounding the match. It’s another data point for how much fan interest volleyball has both live and on TV when given the opportunity and support. It was a fun atmosphere to compete and I wish we were able to come away with the win.”
UP NEXT: The Gamecocks head south from Athens for their final game of the weekend, South Carolina next faces No. 19 Florida on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. The Gators (11-4, 2-2 SEC) pushed back their previously scheduled Wednesday night match against Mississippi State to Friday due to Hurricane Milton, and took down State in four sets.
