COLUMBIA, S.C. – A season-best offensive performance from senior Riley Whitesides and a strong collective night from the defense boosted South Carolina (8-9, 2-6 SEC) to a four-set win at home over Alabama (10-9, 0-8 SEC) Wednesday night. Whitesides led the team with 17 kills and a .469 hitting percentage on offense, while chipping in a career-high 16 digs on defense.
1st SET: The Gamecock defense shined brightest in the opening set, finishing with five blocks and 14 digs to hold Alabama to a .143 hitting percentage in a 25-21 win. The home side nearly led wire-to-wire, using four early blocks to build a 13-6 lead. The Crimson Tide rallied back with a 6-1 run to cut it to two, 17-15, but Carolina pulled away for the win. The offense needed just nine total kills, relying on a big advantage behind the service line along with its defense. Morgan Carter and Sydney Floyd each recorded a service ace, while Alabama finished with four errors behind the line.
2nd SET: South Carolina’s offense led the way in the second, racking up 17 kills with just two errors in a 25-17 win. Lauren McCutcheon’s six kills led a group of attackers that finished with four different players going for three or more kills. Despite the gaudy numbers, it was Alabama that controlled the score early, leading 6-4 thanks to a pair of aces. The Gamecocks’ methodical attack wore down the Tide, as South Carolina finished the set with a side-out percentage of 76 percent – which kept the visitors from making any decisive runs. Trailing 11-8, South Carolina scored a big 9-2 run to flip the score in its favor the rest of the way, keyed by back-to-back blocks from Ellie Ruprich and Campbell Paris.
3rd SET: After switching up its lineup and strategy from set two, Alabama found a winning formula in the third and won 25-14 to extend the match. The Crimson Tide out-hit the Gamecocks .520 to .033, adding a game-high four blocks and two service aces. The set was decided in two runs – the first was a 6-2 opening run to begin the set, then a 7-0 run to break a 9-all tie. Whitesides accounted for more than half of the team’s nine kills, putting away five on seven swings.
4th SET: The offense and defense both showed well in the final game for Carolina, with 16 kills, a whopping 25 digs and four blocks in a 25-19 final. Alabama was unable to slow the combination of Whitesides and Kiune Fletcher, each of whom killed six balls to lead the offense. Fletcher converted all six of her swings into…