Women's Volleyball . September 23, 2025

Gamecocks Open SEC Play on the Road

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The South Carolina volleyball team (6-4) opens conference play this week on the road with a pair of ranked opponents, facing No. 3 Kentucky (7-2) on Wednesday, Sept. 24 at 7:00 p.m. before heading to No. 22 Tennessee (9-1) on Friday, Sept. 26 for a 6:30 p.m. game.

Coverage for the week includes the Kentucky match on SEC Network and the Tennessee match on SEC Network+. Live scoring for both contests will be available on StatBroadcast.

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS

No. 3 Kentucky has had a solid non-conference season, defeating three top-10 ranked opponents and producing six sweeps to ride on a 7-2 overall record going into SEC play. The Wildcats were picked first in the conference preseason poll, tallying nine first place votes. Additionally, the Wildcats received four spots on the All-SEC preseason team, the most of any team in the conference with Brooklyn DeLeye, Brooke Bultema, Molly Tuozzo and Eva Hudson selected to the team. DeLeye leads the offense with 150 kills so far this season, averaging 4.69 per set. Hudson, who was named SEC Offensive Player of the Week Sept. 22, follows closely behind with 133 total kills (4.16 per set). Hudson is coming off a record breaking performance last week where she tallied 28 kills against Washington, a three-set program record for Kentucky. Hudson and DeLeye rank second and third respectively in the SEC for digs per set. Kassie O’Brien, who earned SEC Setter of the Week honors on Sept. 8, has accumulated 238 assists to put up 8.21 per set. On the defensive side, Tuozzo averages 4.16 digs per set and Lizzie Carr goes up for 1.15 block per set.

SCOUTING THE VOLUNTEERS

No. 22 Tennessee currently ranks third in the SEC standings with a 9-1 record for the non-conference schedule. The Volunteers have only faced two true P4 programs, splitting the results with a 3-1 loss to then-No. 15 Purdue and 3-1 win over then-No. 21 Georgia Tech. Tennessee is an offensive powerhouse, ranking first in the nation with a .343 hitting percentage and 20th in the NCAA for having 14.09 kills per set. Paityn Chapman leads the team with 91 kills, averaging 3.25 per set. Caroline Kerr, SEC Setter of the Week on Sept. 15, has tallied 264 assists this season which is over 150 more than any of her other teammates. She averages 8.80 per set which ranks eighth in the conference. The Volunteers’ defense is well rounded too as they hold their opponents to a .111 hitting percentage which ranks second in the NCAA. The team averages 2.79 blocks per set, ranking 20th in the nation. Gulce Guctekin has the most digs on the team with 129 (3.91 per set) while Chelsea Sutton, SEC Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 15, has registered 45 blocks (1.45 per set).

WEEK FOUR NOTABLES

The Gamecocks carried their momentum from an upset victory over No. 25 UNC on Sept. 12 into their final week of non-conference play, extending to a three game win streak and pick up five home wins so far this season
South Carolina started off the week with a Monday night 3-1 win over Wofford, tying a season high 62 kills and 58 assists
In each category of kills, digs and assists there were three Gamecocks with double digit stats
Nia Hall and Alayna Johnson led the offense with 16 and 15 kills, respectively. Sarah Jordan and Kimmie Thompson led the assist category with 21 and 16 while Victoria Harris and Johnson were the top two dig leaders with 21 and 16
The Gamecocks rounded out the week on Friday with their third sweep of the season against USC Upstate, putting up a season high hitting percentage of .391 after having only nine errors which is the second lowest amount in a match this season
South Carolina also held the Spartans to a .102 hitting percentage, the lowest of the season
Sydney Floyd had a standout game, leading the team with a season high three aces along with nine assists and nine digs, good for second on the team that night
Following the week, the Gamecocks are receiving votes in the most recent AVCA/Taraflex Coaches Top 25 poll

BACK TO THE ROOTS

It will be a full circle moment for two Gamecocks this week. Head coach Sarah Rumely Noble returns to her alma mater Kentucky to open SEC play. Noble graduated in 2010 and was named to the Hall of Fame in 2017 following a successful volleyball career where she was a four-time All-SEC setter, two-time AVCA All-American from 2006-09, 2006 SEC Freshman of the Year and 2008 SEC Player of the Year honors. She also was named a third-team Academic All-American in 2009, after making the honorable mention team in 2008. Emily Beeker returns to her previous school, Tennessee, where she spent the first three seasons of her collegiate career. As a Volunteer, Beeker hit .396 her sophomore and junior year and tallied 36 and 27 blocks respectively. The senior looks to use her familiarity of the Food City Center to her advantage this week.

NO FLY ZONE

The Gamecocks stepped up on blocking in week three and four, posting the top three marks of the season at three matches. Against NC State, South Carolina put up a then-season high 10 blocks with five different Gamecocks getting two or more apiece – led by Emily Beeker with seven and Elise Marchal with four. The Gamecocks raised the bar once more against UNC, setting a new season high of 16 total team blocks, led by the trio of Beeker, Marchal and Ava Leahy who each had seven or more blocks. Against USC Upstate the team had their second highest amount of blocks this season, tallying 11 again led by Beeker with seven. Beeker leads the team with 38 total blocks this season while Marchal follows with 25.

YA DIG?

Sophomore Victoria Harris is already at 148 digs this season, averaging 3.79 per set. She ranks fifth in the conference for total digs and ninth for digs per set. Harris has put up the highest amount of digs at every match this season, reaching a season high of 24 against NC State – only three off of her career high. She hit in the 20s two additional times this season, dishing out 22 against UNC and 20 against Wofford. Three other Gamecocks, Victoria Hill (67), Nia Hall (58) and Kimmie Thompson (54) have tallied 50 or more digs on the season.

BIG IMPACT IN THE FINAL CHAPTER

Senior Alayna Johnson has carried the momentum from her strong junior campaign into this season, emerging as one of the Gamecocks’ top offensive threats. She started the season off against Coastal Carolina with a new career high seven aces in the team’s win — a mark that ranks second in program history. She recorded double-digit kills in five matches, highlighted by a season-high 16 at USF, just one shy of her career best. Johnson also posted a career-best .571 hitting percentage against Coastal Carolina, a mark that currently leads the team. She neared that mark recently against Wofford, hitting .519 with 15 kills and just one error.

DEPTH ON DISPLAY

In seven of South Carolina’s ten matches this season, at least two Gamecocks have recorded double-digit kills. The team’s most balanced effort came against Coastal Carolina, where four players — Nia Hall (17), Victoria Hill (17), Alayna Johnson (12), and Elise Marchal (10) — each reached double figures. Hall and Hill have led the way, posting double-digit kills in six matches apiece this season. In every match except USF, at least two Gamecocks recorded double-digit assists, highlighted by the Coastal match where Kimmie Thompson (28) and Sydney Floyd (22) each surpassed 20.

DOUBLE TROUBLE

Victoria Hill and Nia Hall were the first Gamecocks of the season to record double-double stats, reaching double digits in kills and digs during the five set Clemson match (8/21/25). Hill recorded 18 kills and 14 digs while Hall notched 23 kills and 14 digs. Hill had her second double-double of the season at the Coastal Carolina match (9/3/25), notching 17 kills and 10 digs. Hall had her second double-double against NC State, tallying 14 kills and 10 digs. Against Wofford, two more Gamecocks joined this season’s double-double club. Victoria Harris added 12 assists to her 20 digs while Sarah Jordan had 21 assists and 10 digs.

EARNING THEIR FEATHERS

Four Gamecocks recorded their first stats in the Garnet & Black these past few weeks. Freshmen Anne Bradley Bing and Claire Payne notched their first collegiate marks against Florida State and Coastal Carolina, respectively — Bing delivered her first ace versus the Seminoles, while Payne tallied her first kill against the Chanticleers and finished the match with four total. Junior transfer Laiya Ebo also made her mark, earning her first kill as a Gamecock against USF. She later earned her first blocks for the team during back-to-back plays against USC Upstate. Phoebe Reyes recorded her first ace against NC State and against USC Upstate had her first block.

STADIUM PULSE

Of the six home matches this season, South Carolina has broken the attendance record at the Carolina Volleyball Center three times. The record was first broken against Clemson, where 3405 fans scanned in. It was then rebroken against UNC with 3419 fans before being broken for a third time against Wofford with 4344 fans checking in. At the other three matches the attendance has been at least 2165. This atmosphere and home court advantage is proven in the stats as the Gamecocks are 5-1 at home. At CVC South Carolina also has the best hitting percentage (.268), most kills per set (13.30), most blocks per set (2.13) and holds opponents to the lowest hitting percentage (.179).