Volleyball Starts Off 2026 Campaign with Sweep Over UNCG
COLUMBIA, S.C. – The South Carolina volleyball team opened the 2026 season with a 3-0 sweep against UNCG on Friday evening in the Carolina Volleyball Center to kick off the Gamecock Classic tournament.
The Gamecocks had a strong offensive presence, holding the Spartans to a .060 hitting percentage while hitting .418. Five players notched five or more kills with Olivia Borgman leading the charge, tallying 13 kills to set the tone for her first year representing the Garnet & Black. Senior Ava Leahy followed closely with nine kills and only two errors, hitting .538. Transfer Kiana Dinn also made a strong debut as a Gamecock, passing out a team leading 20 assists, setting up several crucial kills.
1st SET: The first set was a back-and-forth battle early, with the teams tied at 3-3 before South Carolina pulled ahead 5-4. The Gamecocks then used a dominant stretch to take control starting with a kill from transfer Ceci Vance, scoring 18 of the next 19 points to build a 22-7 advantage. The run included two aces from freshman Madi Crnjac and three kills from Elise Marchal. South Carolina continued to cruise from there, closing out the opening frame, 25-8, ending on a kill from Leahy.
2nd SET: South Carolina carried its momentum into the second set, jumping out to an early 5-1 advantage behind kills from Borgman and Vance, and multiple attack errors from the Spartans. UNCG battled back to make it a one-point game at 8-7 before the Gamecocks regained control, with Borgman, Leahy and Vance each contributing kills to maintain the lead. The Spartans eventually fought all the way back to knot the set at 16-16, but South Carolina responded with a kill from Vance and a block from Sydney Davis and Marchal to regain the advantage. Borgman continued to lead the Gamecock attack late, adding another kill at 21-24 before the Gamecocks closed out the set, 25-22 following an error from the Spartans.
3rd SET: The Gamecocks and Spartans traded points early in the third set, with South Carolina taking a 6-3 lead behind kills from Borgman and Vance. UNCG continued to hang on, cutting the deficit to 12-11. The Gamecocks pushed their advantage to 16-14, but UNCG rallied to even the score at 16-16. From there, Crnjac took over from the service line, recording back-to-back aces to spark a 4-0 Gamecock run, followed by a Borgman kill to extend the lead to 21-17. Borgman continued to deliver late, adding two more kills as South Carolina maintained its advantage and closed out the set, 25-21 on a block from Borgman and Leahy.
Notables
- The Gamecocks had a team hitting percentage of .418
- Kiana Dinn had 20 assists over the three sets. Freshman Jill Bohannon passed out 14 total.
- 5 Gamecocks had five or more kills; Olivia Borgman (13), Ava Leahy (9), Ceci Vance (8), Elise Marchal (6) and Sydney Davis (5).
- Davis led the team with a .833 hitting percentage followed by Leahy hitting .538.
- Lilly Gillespie led the defense with 12 digs for her Gamecock debut.
- Freshman Madi Crnjac led the team with four aces for her collegiate debut along with two assists and three digs.
Up Next: The Gamecocks round out the opening weekend on Sunday, Aug. 30 at 1:00 p.m. against Northeastern in the Carolina Volleyball Center.
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