Women's Volleyball . September 8, 2026

Gamecocks Fall to Cal on Tuesday Night

Game #1

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The South Carolina volleyball team (4-2, 0-0 SEC) fell to California (5-1, 0-0 ACC) 3-1 on Tuesday evening in the annual ACC/SEC Showdown at the Net.

1st SET: South Carolina battled back and forth with California throughout the opening set, with neither team able to pull away early. The Bears began to pull away and lead by three but the Gamecocks used kills from Ava Leahy, Ceci Vance and Elise Marchal to stay within striking distance, eventually tying the set at 17-17. South Carolina then took a 20-17 lead behind a Sydney Davis kill and a pair of California errors before the Golden Bears rallied to even the score at 24-24. The Gamecocks continued to fight, and eventually took set one 27-25 after three consecutive errors from the Bears.

2nd SET: South Carolina kept pace with California early in the second set, trailing just 9-8 behind kills from Leahy and Vance. The Golden Bears then hit the gas with a 7-0 run, using three straight Gamecock attack errors and an ace to build a 15-8 advantage. Leahy added another kill to halt the run, but California continued to extend its lead, taking a 22-10 advantage. Leahy recorded another kill late in the set, but the Bears closed out the frame, 25-11.

3rd SET: South Carolina battled California point-for-point in the third set, with the Gamecocks answering each Golden Bear run to keep the frame within reach. A 4-0 run following kills from Marchal and Olivia Borgman got the Gamecocks to lead 17-13 but California answered aggressively and ended up tying the set at 21-21. South Carolina continued to fight, regaining the advantage and reaching set point at 24-22 but the Bears forced extra points and ultimately claimed the set, 28-26, after a 6-2 run.

4th SET: South Carolina fell behind early and trailed throughout the majority of the fourth set. Kills from Vance and Borgman kept the Gamecocks within one early on but Cal started to extend its lead, using South Carolina errors and eventually pulling away to a 15-10 advantage. A 3-1 run after kills from Cavanaugh and Leahy cut the deficit to three but the Bears continued to fight off Gamecock attempts, eventually winning the set 25-20 and the match 3-1.

Notables

Elise Marchal led the team with 12 kills, a season high, hitting .455. Two more players, Olivia Borgman (11) and Ceci Vance (10), notched double digit kills.
Kiana Dinn led the team with 25 assists, her fifth match this season with 20 or more. She neared a double-double, adding eight digs.
Lilly Gillespie led with 20 digs.
Four players had three blocks; Elise Marchal, Ceci Vance, Ava Leahy and Sydney Davis.

Up Next: The Gamecocks hit the road later this week, facing Clemson on Friday, Sept. 11 at 7:00 p.m. before heading over to Wofford for a 4:00 p.m. first serve on Saturday, Sept. 12.