AUBURN, ALA. – For the second time in two weeks, South Carolina volleyball came up just short of picking up a victory against a ranked Auburn team, losing in five sets to the Tigers (15-5, 5-4 SEC) on the road Sunday afternoon. All told, there would be 21 lead changes and 46 ties over the five sets, with the final three sets decided by the minimum two points. The Gamecocks (8-10, 2-7 SEC) were led by a season-high 21 kills from senior Riley Whitesides, as well as five different players in double figures for digs.
1st SET: Auburn took the opening game with a late push, scoring seven of the final eight points in a 25-21 win. The Gamecocks built an early lead, using a pair of kills and a block from freshman Paris Campbell to break away from a 7-7 tie and lead 15-12 at the first break of the set. The Tigers also fell victim to self-inflicted errors, committing six service errors in South Carolina’s first 21 points at the Gamecocks went ahead by three, 21-18. That is where Auburn shored up its offense, putting down four kills with a block and service ace to run off the game-changing streak. The Tigers finished with a 5-1 advantage in blocks for the set, holding South Carolina to a .146 hitting percentage. Paris and Riley Whitesides combined for nine of the team’s 12 kills.
2nd SET: It was South Carolina’s turn to make a late run in the second, getting even with a 25-19 win. The set was tight for most of the the time after both teams traded off 4-0 runs to begin the game. From there, neither side would lead by more than three points until the decisive run for the Gamecocks. The visitors broke away from a 18-18 tie with a 7-1 run to close out the set, sparked by service aces by Claire Wilson and Lauren McCutcheon. Whitesides continued to shoulder the load on offense, putting down six more kills to account for almost half of the team total (13).
3rd SET: The Gamecocks stayed hot behind the line to start the third, recording four aces in their first eight points to take a big early lead, 8-1. Auburn rallied back to cut the deficit to one, 12-11, but the Gamecocks pushed back ahead 18-15 thanks to a pair of kills from Kiune Fletcher. The Tigers made one more push and it finally broke through, scoring a 4-1 run that gave it the lead for good at 23-21.
4th SET: Service errors plagued Auburn again in the fourth, the Tigers committed seven to spoil a .355 hitting percentage from their offense in a 26-24 win for South Carolina to force a fifth set. The…