COLUMBIA, S.C. – Gamecock volleyball snapped its losing streak with a commanding performance Wednesday night against Georgia (10-7, 1-4 SEC), taking down the Bulldogs in four sets. Freshman Campbell Paris led the team with a career-high 18 kills, senior Kiune Fletcher added 13 and both would hit well over .400 to push the team’s record to 7-8 for the season and 1-5 in conference play.
1st SET: Paris was locked in from the start, recording the team’s first kill of the game on the way to eight total in the set. The Gamecocks hit .342 with 19 total kills in the 25-22 win, the 19 kills are the most for a single set so far this season. Despite the eye-catching offensive numbers, it was Georgia that controlled the first half of the set, carrying a 15-10 lead into the first timeout. A pair of kills from Fletcher sparked a 6-1 run to tie the score up at 16, but Georgia pushed back ahead and was first to 20, leading 20-19. Paris almost single-handedly answered the Bulldogs from that point on, though, putting away three kills in a 4-1 run that gave her team the lead for good.
2nd SET: Georgia evened up the match with a 25-20 win in set two, dominating the service line to cool off the South Carolina offense. Combining three Bulldog service aces with three service errors by the Gamecocks, Georgia opened on an 8-2 run and never looked back. South Carolina’s attackers remained efficient, committing only four attack errors, but weren’t able to run its tempo and ended with just 11 kills on 29 swings. Paris and Fletcher combined for six of those kills, coming on 12 attacks.
3rd SET: South Carolina shored up its passing and found its mojo again in the third, pulling away late for a 25-18 win and a 2-1 set lead. The Gamecocks hit .481 with 17 kills, with four different hitters chipping in three kills or more. Out of an 8-all tie, South Carolina scored seven of the next 10 points to build a lead it would not give back. Junior setter Claire Wilson pitched in a pair of service aces in the set to help the home side meet the Georgia serving game head-on, also adding eight assists and two digs in the set.
4th SET: After seeing the offense grab the headlines in the first three sets, South Carolina’s defense came through with its best performance of the night to seal the win with a 25-16 score in the fourth. Georgia finished with more attacking errors (11) than kills (8), thanks in large part to five blocks for South Carolina. Ellie Ruprich recorded a pair of…