Gamecocks Fall to Auburn in Four Sets

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The South Carolina volleyball team (8-13, 2-9 SEC) produced a balanced offensive effort on Wednesday night against Auburn (16-6, 7-4 SEC) as six Gamecocks had seven or more kills but the Garnet & Black came up just short, falling 3-1 to the Tigers.

1st SET: The Gamecocks opened the match on a 3-0 run off a kill and an ace from Ava Leahy and a kill from Emily Beeker. South Carolina then went on a 4-0 scoring run after four straight kills from Beeker, Laiya Ebo, and two back-to-back by Alayna Johnson to go up 11-5 and force an Auburn timeout. The two teams traded points until the Tigers went on their own 4-0 run to close the gap to 16-15. South Carolina pushed the lead back to 19-16 with kills from Ebo and Elise Marchal. Nia Hall went on a scoring spree, increasing the lead to 21-17 and forcing an Auburn timeout. The Gamecocks took the first set on a kill from Hall to win 25-21.

2nd SET: The two teams traded points to start the set until Auburn went on a 3-0 scoring run to lead 5-2. The Tigers continued to push ahead and increased their lead to 8-3 on a pair of kills and an error to force a South Carolina timeout. The Gamecocks answered with a 3-0 run on their own to close the deficit to 12-8. The two teams traded brief runs, but Auburn was able to hold onto their lead. The Tigers led 17-10, but the Gamecocks pushed back with five straight points, capitalizing on four errors and a kill from Ebo, to trail by only two at 18-16. South Carolina could not complete the comeback though as Auburn closed the set at 25-18 and tied the score at 1-1.

3rd SET: Much like the second set, the Tigers jumped to an early 8-3 lead, forcing a South Carolina timeout. The Gamecocks clawed back with a 4-0 scoring run to trail 11-9 with kills from Leahy and Hall, a block by Leahy and Marchal, and an ace from Johnson. Auburn extended its lead to 18-12 with back-to-back kills. South Carolina got back within one point after a 3-0 scoring run capped by a kill from Marchal to trail 20-19 and force an Auburn timeout. The Gamecocks’ comeback fell just short when Auburn closed the set on a block at 25-21, giving the Tigers a 2-1 lead in the match.

4th SET: The Gamecocks took an early 5-3 lead, backed by kills from Hall, Beeker and Ebo, but the Tigers closed the gap quickly. A pair of service errors from each team tied the set at 9-9, but Auburn claimed its first lead of the set on a kill to make it 10-9. The Tigers continued to increase the score to lead 13-9 after a 5-0 scoring run. South Carolina went on a run of its own to close the gap and trail 17-14, forcing an Auburn timeout. The Gamecocks attempted to make a late push but Auburn went on a 7-2 run to win the set 25-17.

Notables 

• Laiya Ebo hit .556 for a new season high
• Elise Marchal had her third consecutive game with double-digit kills, setting a new season high of 11
• It was the third consecutive match where three Gamecocks had double-digit kills – Ebo (11), Marchal (11), and Hall (10)
• Sarah Jordan earned her second consecutive double-double with 27 assists and 10 digs
• Two Gamecocks, Jordan (27) and Kimmie Thompson (24), had over 20 assists

Up Next: The Gamecocks remain home for the next match, facing No. 25 Florida on Sunday, Nov. 2 for a 1:00 p.m. first serve.