Gamecocks Open SEC Tournament Against Alabama
SAVANNAH, Ga. – The South Carolina volleyball team (10-15, 4-11 SEC) begins postseason on Friday, Nov. 21 at the 2025 SEC Volleyball Tournament which returns after a 20-year hiatus. The Gamecocks earned the 13th seed and will be facing 12th seeded Alabama (13-12, 5-10 SEC) in the first round of the tournament at the Enmarket Arena in Savannah, Georgia at approximately 2:00 p.m.
The match will be streamed on SEC Network with live scoring available on StatBroadcast. Fans can also follow along through in-game updates on X, @GamecockVolley.
If the Gamecocks advance, they are slated to play fifth-seeded Florida in the second round on Saturday, Nov. 22 at approximately 2:00 p.m.
WEEK TWELVE NOTABLES (Ole Miss & Texas)
- The Gamecocks picked up their first sweep of conference play in the home finale against Ole Miss last week before wrapping up regular season in a 4-1 loss to then-No. 4 Texas
- Against both opponents, South Carolina put up a balanced offensive effort with at least six different players getting at least 2 kills in both matches
- Three players had double digit kills against Texas
- Nia Hall was the top kill leader in both games, recording nine against Ole Miss and 12 against Texas. The junior has accumulated a team-leading 258 kills this season
- Emily Beeker put up seven blocks against both opponents. She reached the 100-block season milestone in the Ole Miss match and currently has 108, 41 more than any other player on the team
- The Gamecocks went head-to-head with then-No. 4 Texas as only four or less points separated the two teams in attacks, kills, aces digs and blocks
- South Carolina earned its best hitting percentage of conference play (.290) against Ole Miss
- Against both opponents, Victoria Harris tallied a combined 30 digs. She is currently at 381 this season and has reached double digits in 20 matches
- Laiya Ebo had a near-perfect performance against Texas, tallying 10 kills with zero errors for a .500 hitting percentage – marking her fourth match of the season hitting .500 or better
SCOUTING THE CRIMSON TIDE
Alabama sits two spots above South Carolina in the SEC standings with five wins over conference opponents. The Tide enter Friday’s match after beating Missouri 3-1 last Sunday in Tuscaloosa. Victoria Barrett led the team with 20 kills, hitting .385. She poses as the team’s biggest offensive threat, leading the team with 332 this season. Barrett averages 3.61 kills per set which ranks 14th in the SEC. The Crimson Tide rank second in the SEC in aces per set (1.68) as well as second in total team service aces (155). This is led by Hannah Parant who ranks first in the SEC for aces per set (0.54) and total services aces(50). Trinity Stanger leads the team’s defensive efforts with 352 digs (3.83 per set) this season which ranks fifth in the SEC. Alabama leads the all-time series record between the two programs 33-27, earning its last win over the Gamecocks just over a month ago in Columbia. The Tide swept the Gamecocks, holding South Carolina to its second lowest hitting percentage of conference play.
SCOUTING THE GATORS
The Florida Gators stand at fifth in the SEC, most recently earning a 3-1 victory over Ole Miss on Friday in Oxford. The result was backed by the duo of Jordyn Byrd and Aniya Madkin as they both tallied eleven kills. Alexis Stuckey fed these kills with 23 assists. Byrd is the program’s top kill leader with 354 this season and 3.77 per set. Lily Hayes, who was named Co-SEC Freshman of the Week this season, leads the Gators with 3.66 digs per set. She has 348 digs on the season which ranks her seventh in the SEC. Alexis Stuckey leads in assists with 9.81 per set and 883 overall which ranks fifth in the conference. Jaela Auguste has tallied a team-leading 97 blocks in addition to 250 kills this season. The Gators picked up five SEC regular season awards with Auguste being named to the first All-SEC First Team, Byrd and Stucky being named to the Second Team and Hayes and Milica Vidacic being named to the All-Freshman Team. Florida leads the all-time series between the two programs 64-12. South Carolina has won the past three matchups with the most recent victory having happened in Columbia on Oct. 2. The Gamecocks earned their second upset over a No. 25 team of the season, defeating the Gators 3-1.
THE CHAMPIONSHIP RETURNS
The SEC Volleyball Championship returns this fall for the first time since 2005, ending a 20-year hiatus. The event was previously held from 1979–2005 at both campus sites and neutral locations. Past champions include Florida (12 titles), Kentucky (5), LSU and Tennessee (4 each), and Arkansas and Georgia (1 each). The 2025 championship will be hosted at Enmarket Arena in Savannah, Ga., November 21–25, marking the addition of a championship event in every sport in the conference.
YA DIG?
Sophomore Victoria Harris has tallied 381 digs this season, averaging 4.10 per set. She ranks third in the conference for total digs and fourth for digs per set. Harris has put up the highest amount of digs on the team at every match except two this season, reaching a high of 27 against Missouri which ties her career high and ranks fourth in program history for most amount of digs during a four set match (rally scoring era). She hit in the 20s six additional times this season and for all but five matches Harris reached double digit digs. The Columbia, S.C. native surpassed the 700 dig milestone last week, and currently has 777 so far in her collegiate career. Three Gamecocks, Sarah Jordan (154), Victoria Hill (149) and Alayna Johnson (142) are also well past 100 digs this season.
LAST ONE BEST ONE
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 on a high note against Coastal Carolina with a new career high seven aces in the team’s win — a mark that ranks second in program history, and she has tallied a team leading 21 aces so far this season. Johnson has recorded double-digit kills in 12 matches, highlighted by a career-high 19 at Missouri. She has led the team in kills for six matches and has hit .500 three times this season including a season high .571 against Coastal Carolina which currently leads the team this season.
SETTING THE VIBE
South Carolina has four reliable setters that have each helped guide the offense every time they enter a match. Senior Sarah Jordan leads the team with 465 assists this season, averaging 5.54 per set. She has reached double digit assists for all but one match and has recorded 20 or more at 12, reaching a season high of 36 at back to back matches. Kimmie Thompson follows with 305 assists on the season, earning double-digits at 15 matches – six of which were more than 20. Syndey Floyd and Kaia Pixler have okayed in 12 and nine matches respectively but have made an impact both with season highs in the 20s.
MIDDLE MAGIC
Middles Emily Beeker and Ava Leahy have stepped up during conference play, setting multiple career and season highs while helping guide the offense. Beeker has set a career high in kills four separate times this season, tallying nine against NC State and Mississippi State before more recently setting back-to-back- career highs at Missouri (11) and Vanderbilt (12). Beeker has also led the team in blocks at 17 matches and set her career high of nine total blocks against Texas A&M before matching that mark against Arkansas. The senior passed the 100-block milestone for the season against Ole Miss after tallying seven blocks in the match and currently has 108 and counting. She ranks third for blocks per set in the South Carolina program record book single season SEC records with 1.30 and is three away from ranking 10th for both solo blocks and block assists. Leahy matched her career high nine blocks against Georgia and ranks alongside Beeker as the top mark in blocks on the team this season. Against Arkansas Leahy helped lead the team to its first SEC victory of the season after setting multiple season highs; 10 kills, 18 attempts and three aces. The junior played a big part in helping the team to its first sweep in SEC play over Ole Miss last week, hitting .600 with six kills and no errors.
CAN’T GO WRONG WHEN YOU GO RIGHT
Right side hitters Laiya Ebo and Elise Marchal have raised the bar recently, proving to be key contributors in conference play. Ebo has improved greatly since the first time she played in Garnet & Black- first reaching a season high of three kills at Tennessee before setting a new high of 12 against Georgia – hitting .526 which is the second highest mark on the team this season and ranked ninth in the SEC for four set hitting percentages at the time. She reached a new season high hitting percentage of .556 against Auburn with 11 kills, 18 swings and just one error. The mark ranks second on the team and in the top 10 in the conference. Marchal turned on the gas against Missouri and hasn’t looked back, notching 10 kills against the Tigers, 10 against Vanderbilt, 11 against Auburn and 11 against Florida for a new season high. She had 11.0 or more points against those four opponents and has recorded 10 or more at seven matches this season.
DEPTH ON DISPLAY
In 12 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 Johnson have led the way, posting double-digit kills in 12 matches. In 16 matches this season, at least two Gamecocks recorded double digit assists and at four matches there were two Gamecocks in the 20s; the Coastal match which was led by Kimmie Thompson (28) and Sydney Floyd (22), the Georgia match – led by Kaia Pixler (23) and Sarah Jordan (20), the Missouri match led by Jordan (25) and Thompson (21) and the Auburn match led by Jordan (27) and Thompson (24).
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, three more Gamecocks joined this season’s double-double club. Victoria Harris added 12 assists to her 20 digs, Sarah Jordan had 21 assists and 10 digs and Alayna Johnson recorded 15 kills and 16 digs. Kaia Pixler became the sixth Gamecock this season to reach a double-double, recording 11 digs and 13 assists against Mississippi State. Jordan had two more consecutive matches with double-double’s, Vanderbilt (30 assists and 15 digs) Auburn (27 assists and 10 digs). Against Florida, Alayna Johnson had her second double-double of the season with 10 kills and 11 digs.
NO FLY ZONE
The Gamecocks have had 10 matches with 10 or more total blocks this season. 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 Georgia, the Garnet & Black reached their second highest amount of the season with 12 led by Leahy with nine and Marchal with six. Beeker and Ebo had three apiece. For the next two consecutive matches the Gamecocks again reached 12 blocks. With a value of 1.15 blocks per set, Beeker ranks ninth in the SEC which marks her sixth consecutive week ranked in the top 20 in the conference. She ranks eighth in the SEC for total blocks.
