Gamecocks Drop Regular Season Finale to Texas A&M
COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina concluded its regular-season schedule on Saturday, losing in three sets to Texas A&M (19-7, 10-6 SEC). The Gamecocks are now 16-11 overall and 7-9 in conference play entering Selection Sunday on Dec. 1.
1st SET: The Aggies used an early scoring run to take control in a 25-21 opening win. The Gamecocks led 9-6 before a service error and three straight A&M blocks sparked a 5-0 run to flip the scoreboard. The Gamecocks were playing catch-up the rest of the way, eventually drawing back even at 14 before three unanswered points for the visitors gave them the lead for good. Both offenses were clicking, the Aggies out-hit Carolina .478 to .355, and long runs were hard to come by. Ultimately it would be unforced errors that made the difference, South Carolina had six service errors – three coming immediately after getting a kill to side out – and the limited scoring run opportunities would keep Texas A&M in front.
2nd SET: Texas A&M entered the day with the SEC’s top defense and continued to play to its strengths in the second, recording five more blocks to cover for its offense’s lowest numbers of the day. The Aggies won 25-22 despite a kills advantage for South Carolina, with Riley Whitesides accounting for eight of the team’s 14. The Gamecocks pushed ahead early, 13-10, but a 4-0 scoring run for the Aggies tightened the margin. Neither side would lead by more than a point for a majority of the mid-game, but Texas A&M used three unforced errors for the Gamecocks to go on a 6-1 run and take the lead for good at 21-17.
3rd SET: South Carolina was able to find some scoring opportunities behind the service line, but were otherwise unable to slow down the A&M offense as the Aggies out-hit the Gamecocks .435 to .161 and closed the match with a 25-21 victory. The visitors got out to a hot start in the set leading by as many as six points and took a 16-10 lead after a service error for Carolina. The Gamecocks locked in on their service opportunities and scored seven of the next eight points from there, though, getting back-to-back aces from both Whitesides and Sydney Floyd in the 7-1 outburst. Out of that 17-all tie, though, A&M scored four of the next five points and would not look back to clinch the match.
NOTABLE
- With three blocks in the match, Ellie Ruprich now owns the modern-scoring era record for block assists (403), solo blocks (117) and total blocks (520).
- The Aggie offense was efficient, hitting .355 while South Carolina recorded a season-low 20 digs along with three total blocks.
- Riley Whitesides led all hitters with 14 kills, pushing her season total to 416. She passes Shonda Cole’s 2005 total of 414 for fifth-most in a single season in the modern scoring era. Her 4.43 kills per set average is second-highest, behind Cole’s 2006 average of 5.95 – an all-time program record.
- South Carolina fell to 15-4 this season when matching our surpassing opponents in service aces. The team’s 6-1 advantage was nullified by a 15-5 margin in service errors.
- The Gamecocks end the regular season with 94 sets played, the fewest since 2001 (92 sets over 26 matches). Carolina played the minimum three sets in 17 of its 27 total matches.
- Setter Sarah Jordan averaged over 12 assists per set on Saturday, her season average of 9.90 per set is the highest by a Gamecock since Courtney Koehler’s 2018 average of 10.01.
- Sophomore Sydney Floyd dropped in a pair of aces in set three, it is her fifth career multi-ace game.
- Despite being held to single-digit digs for the first time since Sept. 10, freshman Victoria Harris still finished the regular season with 381 digs and 4.05 per set. She is the seventh Gamecock in the modern scoring era to average four or more digs per set and is the lone freshman among the other six women.
- Junior Alayna Johnson reached 500 career kills on Saturday, she is the 25th woman in the modern scoring era to reach the milestone.
UP NEXT: With the regular season finished, the Gamecocks will now await their postseason fate. The NCAA tournament selection show will air at 6 p.m. on ESPN this Sunday, Dec. 1. First and second round action begins Thursday, Dec. 5 with games running through Saturday. South Carolina is looking for its first NCAA tournament berth since 2021 and fourth appearance overall under head coach Tom Mendoza.
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