ATHENS, GA. – For the sixth time in its last 10 meetings, South Carolina and Georgia went the distance. The Gamecocks (9-5, 0-3 SEC) clawed back from a 2-0 set deficit on the road Friday night but came up just short against the Bulldogs (7-7, 1-3 SEC). The rally was powered by the trio of Riley Whitesides, Tireh Smith and Victoria Harris; Whitesides and Smith combined for 40 of the team’s 67 kills while Harris finished one dig shy of her career high, posting 22 along with three service aces.
1st SET: The Gamecocks played clean early to build modest lead in the opener, their first error came with a 10-8 lead after six errorless kills on 12 swings. The streak was broken right after, and Georgia took back the lead after three consecutive attacking errors from Carolina. The teams would trade points before the Georgia pulled away, scoring four unanswered points to take a 17-14 lead and the Gamecocks would not threaten again in a 25-18 final. After starting with six kills on its first 12 attacks, Carolina finished the set with six kills and seven errors on the following 16 swings while the home side stayed efficient, hitting .435 as a team. Riley Whitesides led the Gamecocks with five kills and two service aces in the opener.
2nd SET: Georgia’s blocking defense stepped up to build a big advantage early in the second, the Bulldogs had almost as many blocks (four) as South Carolina had kills (five) in an opening burst that built up a 15-8 lead. Georgia’s offense more than held their own, though, hitting .500 with the first attacking error of the set coming after they had already built a 22-15 lead. The Gamecocks finished with a 12-10 kill advantage, but were undone by 7.5 total blocks from Georgia and three service aces to go with a .348 hitting percentage by the home team for a 25-18 final and a 2-0 set lead.
3rd SET: The Gamecocks started well in a must-win third, Tireh Smith got the team in rhythm early with three consecutive kills for the game’s first points. The team fed off the energy from Smith and freshman libero Victoria Harris, who kept multiple rallies alive and finished with a game-high x digs in the third. South Carolina copied Georgia’s early recipe for success, hitting efficiently while letting the Bulldogs make unforced errors. The team’s biggest break came out of a 7-1 run to take an 18-14 lead, capped by two Georgia attack errors. The Bulldogs would rally back late, cutting the margin down to just one point on three…