Gamecocks Head West for Weekend Matchups
COLUMBIA, S.C. – The South Carolina volleyball team (7-11, 1-7 SEC) is set for its second to last road trip of the 2025 regular season, facing Missouri (12-7, 4-4 SEC) and Vanderbilt (5-12, 1-7 SEC) this weekend. The Gamecocks face the Tigers on Friday, Oct. 24 at 7:00 p.m. (ET) before taking on the Commodores on Sunday, Oct. 26 at 2:00 p.m. (ET).
Both games will be streamed on SEC Network+ with live scoring available on StatBroadcast. Links to each can be found on the volleyball schedule page. Fans can also follow along through in-game updates on X @GamecockVolley.
WEEK EIGHT NOTABLES
- The Gamecocks went 0-2 last week at home, falling in straight sets to both Mississippi State and Alabama
- Against Mississippi State, Kaia Pixler became the sixth Gamecock of the season to reach a double-double after recording 11 digs and 13 assists
- South Carolina set a new season high for number of digs during three sets against Mississippi State, dishing out 45 as a team
- Emily Beeker led the team in kills during both games, matching her career high of nine for the third time this season against Mississippi State before tallying seven against Alabama
- Ava Leahy tallied the most points for the Gamecocks against both opponents, earning 10.5 in the Mississippi State match and 9 in the Alabama match
- For 13 matches this season, Victoria Harris has earned double digit digs. She dished out 13 and 14 during last week’s matches
- Harris and Beeker rank top 20 in the SEC; Harris is seventh for digs per set with 3.88 and Beeker ranks 15th for blocks per set with 1.09
- The Gamecocks have a .203 hitting percentage this season with 12.39 kills per set and 11.63 assists per set
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
Missouri is riding on a three-match win streak following victories over LSU, Ole Miss, and Auburn. Their offense is led by senior Caylen Alexander who ranks in the top five in the SEC with 264 kills (4.06 per set). The Tigers also lead the SEC in team kills (952), team service aces (128), team assists (878), and team digs (1,024). Senior libero Maya Sands’ 334 digs on the season leads the SEC (4.70 per set). She also is the team leader for service aces with 25 on the year. On defense, the duo of Regan Haith and Tyrah Ariail lead the team with 76.0 and 73.0 blocks, respectively. The Tigers lead the series record 11-8 against the Gamecocks, though South Carolina has won five of the last seven matches.
SCOUTING THE COMMODORES
Like the Gamecocks, Vanderbilt picked up their first conference win against Arkansas but have since dropped its last four matches. Junior Kamryn Chaney leads the team in kills with 218 on the season (3.30 per set) as well as 33 service aces, which ranks second in the SEC. The Commodores also rank fifth in the SEC for team service aces with 99. Setter Isabella Bareford ranks in the top five in the conference for total assists with 649 on the season (9.69 per set). The defensive effort is led by Hailee Mack with 223 digs this season and Jacquelyn Moore with 62 blocks. Sunday will be the first matchup in program history between the Gamecocks and Commodores.
