Gamecocks Tame Terriers in Four Sets
COLUMBIA, S.C. – The South Carolina Gamecocks (5-4) pushed their home record to 4-1 on Monday night, defeating the Wofford Terriers (2-6) 3-1 in the Carolina Volleyball Center.
South Carolina used its offense to the full extent as three players had double digit kills, contributing towards the teams .317 hitting percentage which is the second highest this season. On the defensive side, Victoria Harris had her third consecutive match where she dished out 20 or more digs. The sophomore also reached her first double-double of the season, adding a season high 12 assists.
1st SET: The Gamecocks had a slow start as the Terriers claimed the first four points to take a 4-0 lead. Ava Leahy put South Carolina on the board with a first ball kill which was followed by four Wofford errors and four kills from different Gamecocks to tie it up at 8-8. Victoria Hill landed a kill to get South Carolina its first edge of the set at 11-10 which eventually was followed by three more lead changes. Neither team broke away further than three points, but the Gamecocks ultimately sealed the set at 25-23 on a kill from Nia Hall.
2nd SET: The second set started off tight, with the Gamecocks and Terriers trading off leads until South Carolina pieced together a 5-1 run to take a 17-13 lead. Wofford was able to come within one, but the Garnet & Black controlled the remainder of the set and capitalized on back-to-back errors from the Terriers at the end to claim the set win at 25-21 and take a 2-0 edge in the match.
3rd SET: Wofford came out swinging, starting the set with a 6-0 scoring run that was spoiled by a service error that got the Gamecocks their first point of the set. A 3-0 run took the Terriers’ lead to 9-1 which marked the biggest deficit of the match. Wofford fought to maintain a five-point lead for a significant portion of the set but two consecutive kills from Hall got the Gamecocks within striking distance, trailing 20-17. The Terriers immediately responded with a 4-0 run to get to set point at 24-17 but the Gamecocks rallied back and went on a 6-0 run that was backed by an ace and three pivotal digs from Sydney Floyd and thee kills from Alayna Johnson to bring the score to 24-23. The impressive rally fell just short as Wofford took the set at 25-23 on a first ball kill.
4th SET: Johnson continued to dominate in the fourth set, opening with the first three points of the frame – two back-to-back blocks with Emily Beeker and a kill that pushed the Gamecocks to a 3-0 lead. A 5-1 run that included two more kills from Johnson extended the lead to 8-2 and the Garnet & Black kept at least a four-point cushion for the rest of the set. South Carolina reached its biggest lead at 21-11, after a 6-0 run that had back-to-back over pass kills from Ava Leahy. The match ended on a dominant first ball kill from Beeker, closing the set at 25-16.
Notables
- In kills, digs and assists there were three Gamecocks who reached double digit stats
- Nia Hall and Alayna Johnson paced the offense with 16 and 15 kills, respectively
- Five different Gamecocks had one ace
- Johnson and Victoria Harris both reached their first double-doubles of the season. Johnson tallied 15 kills and 16 digs while Harris recorded 20 digs and 12 assists. The Gamecocks now have four players who have reached double-double status this season
- The best offensive set for the Gamecocks was the second, where they hit .432
Up Next: The Gamecocks round out their home stand this Friday, Sept. 19 against USC Upstate at 6:00 p.m. at the Carolina Volleyball Center.
