Gamecocks Defeat Wofford 3-1 as Three Players Notch 15 or More Kills
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The South Carolina volleyball team (6-2, 0-0 SEC) picked up its second straight win of its state road trip on Saturday afternoon, defeating Wofford (5-3, 0-0 SOCON) 3-1.
Senior Ava Leahy led the charge for the second match in a row this season, tallying a team-leading 17 kills. Ceci Vance and Elise Marchal followed closely behind with 15 apiece, hitting .448 and .519, respectively. Kiana Dinn was a big contributor to the offense after passing out 41 assists, only one off of her career high set in yesterday’s Clemson match.
1st SET: The Gamecocks and Terriers traded points early into the frame before Wofford jumped to a three-point lead, 13-10, after a 4-0 run backed by two kills and two Gamecock attack errors, prompting South Carolina’s first timeout of the match. The Gamecocks crawled back within one after two kills from Ceci Vance and a kill from Ava Leahy, but the Terriers maintained their gap, leading 15-13 going into media timeout. Wofford continued to push offensively, extending its lead to 17-14 after two consecutive kills. The Gamecocks snuck in a couple more kills from Vance and Elise Marchal, but Wofford continued to keep its three-point cushion for the next couple minutes. Back-to-back Gamecock points provided by Vance’s sixth kill of the match and an ace from Kiana Dinn cut the deficit to one, trailing 22-21, before Dinn’s second consecutive ace tied it all up 22-22. A dominant kill from Marchal spoiled the Terriers’ set point and knotted the score back up 24-24, before a long rally that ended with a solo block from Marchal gained the Gamecocks a 25-24 advantage and sent Wofford to timeout. The set then crept into extra points, with both teams hammering down kills before the Gamecocks were able to take the opening set 30-28, on an ace from Leahy.
2nd SET: After trading points early on in similar fashion to the first set, the Terriers took a four-point lead at 9-5 to send South Carolina to timeout. A kill from Sydney Davis and Marchal kept the Gamecocks within three, trailing 11-8, but the Terriers held onto their lead throughout the middle of the set. The Gamecocks began to struggle slightly, as a 6-1 run from the Terriers that included three errors from the team, had Wofford leading 19-13, prompting a South Carolina timeout. Wofford extended to the largest lead of the set, holding a 20-13 advantage. The Gamecocks continued to chip away with kills from Vance and Marchal, cutting deficit to 22-17 and force a Wofford timeout. A kill from Marchal spoiled set point but the Terriers ultimately tied up the score 1-1 after winning 25-18.
3rd SET: The Gamecocks claimed an early 4-2 lead after a solo block from Borgman and Leahy kill before Wofford clawed back to tie it up 4-4. From there, the teams traded points before the Terriers again created a two-point cushion before a sneak kill from Dinn cut the lead to 8-7, and an ace from Madisyn Crnjac tied everything up 10-10. Despite offensive pushes from the Gamecocks, Wofford took 15-13 lead going into media. South Carolina was able to tie it up 16-16 after kills from Borgman and Leahy, but the Terriers maintained control, pushing to a 19-16 edge to force a Gamecock timeout. Both teams continued to fight offensively, trading kills before a 3-1 Wofford run forced South Carolina’s last timeout of the set, trailing 22-19. Marchal’s 12th kill of the match and an attack error from Wofford sent the Terriers to timeout, trailing just by one at 23-22, before two back-to-back points off a kill and block from Borgman pushed the Gamecocks into the lead, 24-23, forcing another Wofford timeout. The Gamecocks closed the set on a 25-23 win, ending on a 5-0 run.
4th SET: Like the other three sets, the two teams were competitive early in the set, trading kills. Wofford took a two-point advantage at 9-7 before a reversed touch challenge changes score to 8-8. Building off of that momentum, the Gamecocks took a 11-8 lead after a 3-0 run built by back-to-back attack errors from the Terriers and Leahy block which sent Wofford to timeout. The run continued with a kill from Vance and ace from Borgman, pushing to a 13-8 Gamecock lead. South Carolina continued to battle offensively, building to a 15-11 lead going into media after two kills from Vance. Vance and Marchal both add their 15th kills of the night to push the Gamecocks to a 17-11 lead, forcing Wofford’s last timeout of the set. The Terriers attempted to chip away, adding kills where they could, but South Carolina didn’t let up, keeping a five or more point cushion. The Gamecocks ultimately won the set 25-17 and the match 3-1, after a 4-1 run, ending on a dominant kill from Leahy.
Notables
- Ava Leahy led the team with 17 kills. Ceci Vance and Elise Marchal added 15 apiece.
- Marchal led the team with a .519 hitting percentage. The junior also earned the team’s third double-double of the season, adding 14 digs to her 15 kills.
- Kiana Dinn tallied 41 assists, one off of her career best and marking her third match with 30 or more.
- Lilly Gillespie led the team with 17 digs.
Up Next: The Gamecocks continue their road stretch next week, traveling to ETSU on Tuesday, Sept. 15 for a 6:00 p.m. match before wrapping up non-conference play against Virginia Tech on Friday, Sept. 18 at 6:00 p.m.
