Gamecocks Defeat No. 25 Florida in First SEC Home Win

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The South Carolina volleyball team (9-13, 3-9 SEC) earned its first SEC home win and second upset victory of the season against No. 25 Florida (13-8, 8-4 SEC) on Sunday afternoon, defeating the Gators 3-1. The result marks the longest win streak for the Gamecocks in their series record with Florida, as they have now won the past three matchups.

The Gamecocks were out-killed 63-52 by Florida but used the Gators’ 15 service errors to their advantage.

1st SET: South Carolina opened the match strong, striking first to take the opening point and building early momentum behind a quick scoring run. The Gamecocks pulled ahead by two, highlighted by a solo block from Elise Marchal, before Florida rallied to even the score at 7-7 and then edged ahead 8-7. A kill from Victoria Hill knotted things again at eight apiece, setting the tone for a tightly contested set. The teams traded points until a successful Florida challenge flipped the score to 16-14 in favor of the Gators. The Gamecocks answered back, capitalizing on consecutive Florida attack errors to reclaim an 18-17 lead, but a service error tied things once more. After another back-and-forth stretch, South Carolina took a 20-19 edge following more Gator errors, prompting a Florida timeout. Ava Leahy led the Gamecocks to an opening set win after an ace from the junior extended the lead to 21-19 and a kill ended the set 25-22.

2nd SET: South Carolina carried its momentum into the second set, jumping out to a 6-2 lead and stretching it to 8-2 with a 5-0 scoring run that featured kills from three different Gamecocks. Florida responded with a surge of its own, trimming the deficit to 9-7 after two kills and a Gamecock error, eventually tying it up at 9-9. A service error from the Gators briefly put South Carolina back on top at 10-9, and from there, the set turned into a point-for-point battle with neither team leading by more than one. Back-to-back aces from Kimmie Thompson pushed the Gamecocks ahead by two late in the frame, but Florida once again tied things at 20-20. The Gators briefly took control, yet South Carolina answered quickly, closing the door with a 25-23 win on a kill from Marchal to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the match.

3rd SET: The third set began evenly, with both sides trading points until Florida managed to create a two-point cushion that they held for several rallies. The Gators then extended their lead to 14-10 after capitalizing on a pair of South Carolina errors and back-to-back kills. A kill from Hill cut the deficit to three, but a 3-0 Florida run forced a South Carolina timeout. The Gators pushed their advantage to 21-12 following a 5-0 run but the Gamecocks responded with an impressive 4-0 run highlighted by three consecutive blocks from Emily Beeker and Alayna Johnson, cutting the margin to 22-17 and forcing a Florida timeout. Marchal delivered a late kill to hold off set point, but Florida ultimately claimed the set 25-18.

4th SET: Florida opened the fourth set with a point off a South Carolina attack error, but the Gamecocks quickly answered with a kill from Leahy to tie things at 2-2. A Florida error briefly put the Garnet & Black ahead 3-2 before another Gator kill evened the score once more. The teams traded points early until Florida strung together a 4-0 run to move in front 8-7, then extended it to 11-8 with back-to-back aces. South Carolina fought back, using a kill from Beeker and an ace from Thompson to close within one at 11-10. From there, the two sides battled in a back-and-forth exchange, never separated by more than a single point. A Gator service error tied the set at 19-all, but a quick Florida kill and an error grom the Gamecocks gave the Gators a 22-19 edge. Back-to-back kills from Laiya Ebo brought the Gamecocks within one at 22-21, but Florida reached set point at 24-22. Refusing to back down, South Carolina had three consecutive kills courtesy of Elise Marchal and Ava Leahy to steal the set 26-24, sealing the 3-1 victory.

Quotables

“I am so proud of our team! We played assertively all night and applied constant pressure to a really good Florida team,” head coach Sarah Rumely Noble exclaimed. “Our belief system is high and our team has fought every day to get better. I’m proud to be their coach!”

Notables 

• It was a balanced attack from the offense as Elise Marchal led the offense with 11 kills while Ava Leahy and Alayna Johnson followed closely with 10 kills apiece. Emily Beeker and Victoria Hill both recording eight kills
• Johnson had her second double-double of the season with 10 kills and 11 digs
• Leahy hit a team-leading .389
• Four Gamecocks had double digit digs; Victoria Harris (10), Hill (13), Sarah Jordan (13) and Johnson (11)
• Leahy, Marchal and Johnson had 13.0 points apiece
• Thompson reached a career high three aces

Up Next: The Gamecocks continue their home stand on Friday, Nov. 7 for a 7:00 p.m. match against LSU. The four graduating seniors, Sarah Jordan, Alayna Johnson, Emily Beeker and Kimmie Thompson will be honored post-match for a senior night celebration.