South Carolina Tops Vanderbilt in First-Ever Meeting

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – South Carolina volleyball (8-12, 2-8 SEC) defeated Vanderbilt (5-14, 1-9 SEC) on Sunday afternoon on the road in the first ever meeting between the two programs. The Gamecocks carried their offensive momentum from Friday night’s match, having the second consecutive game with three players who had double digit kills. Service errors proved costly for both teams, as two of the four sets ended in one. The Commodores narrowly out-killed the Gamecocks 57-55 but were affected by their 24 errors, nearly 10 more than South Carolina.

“Im really proud of the response of our team this week! Our offense was balanced and our setters did a great job of getting everyone involved,” head coach Sarah Rumely Noble exclaimed. “We continue to get better as a team the more time we have together.”

1st SET: The opening set was neck and neck early on before the Gamecocks started to pull away with kills from multiple different hitters to lead 15-13 heading into the media timeout. An ace from Sarah Jordan extended the advantage to 17-14, forcing a Vanderbilt timeout. The Commodores rallied to tie the score at 19-19 and took their first lead of the set at 20-19 following a long rally. South Carolina quickly responded with Nia Hall’s fourth kill of the frame to even it up, then regained the lead at 22-21 to prompt another Vanderbilt timeout. A successful challenge on a no-touch call reversed the score to 23-21 in South Carolina’s favor, and a service error from Vanderbilt sealed the set for the Gamecocks, 25-22.

2nd SET: Vanderbilt turned up the energy in the second, taking control early with an 11-6 lead. South Carolina battled back within two at 14-12 and later pulled within one at 17-16 after a Commodore error. Vanderbilt reached set point at 24-20, but a kill from Hall and another error by the Commodores cut the deficit to two. The rally fell just short, however, as a Gamecock service error ended the set in Vanderbilt’s favor, 25-22.

3rd SET: The Gamecocks jumped out to a 4-1 lead to start the third, but Vanderbilt quickly tied it up at 4-4 before pushing ahead to 7-5. The two teams traded points throughout, with 13 ties and four lead changes along the way. Deadlocked at 21-21, South Carolina took over with a 4-0 run that included two Vanderbilt errors, a kill from Hall, and an ace from Elise Marchal to close out the set, 25-21, and take a 2-1 lead in the match.

4th SET: The final set stayed close early, with neither team leading by more than one point until the Gamecocks surged ahead with an 8-2 run to take a 17-10 advantage. Vanderbilt responded with a push of its own, capitalizing on South Carolina errors and back-to-back aces to close within three at 21-18 before tying it at 22-all. The teams traded points late, but kills from Laiya Ebo and Alayna Johnson sealed the 25-23 win and secured the 3-1 match victory for the Gamecocks.

Notables 

• Three players had double digit kills, two players had double digit assists and two had double digit digs
• For the eighth match of the season the Gamecocks had double digit blocks, tallying 10
• Nia Hall led the offense with 14 kills, closely followed by Emily Beeker who had 12 and hit a team leading .429
• Beeker and Elise Marchal had double digit kills for their second consecutive match
• Three additional players hit better than .300 with six or more kills
• Victoria Harris had her seventh match of the season with 20+ digs, dishing out 23. She passed the 300 milestone this game and now has 310 on the season

Up Next: The Gamecocks return to Columbia for a home stretch, hosting Auburn on Wednesday, Oct. 29 at 7:00 p.m.