COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina dropped a tough five-set decision to LSU on Sunday afternoon, giving up a 2-1 set lead despite another stellar performance from senior Kiune Fletcher. The Trinidad and Tobago native added 25 kills on Sunday, hitting .486. The loss drops the Gamecocks to 10-14 overall and 4-11 in SEC play. LSU improved to 11-13 and 6-8 in the league.
1st SET: The Tigers were able to play just a little cleaner in the opening game, using four blocks to out-hit the Gamecocks .250 to .167 and win 25-22. Outside of a line of five kills, one error and six swings for Fletcher, the rest of the Carolina offense hit just .041 and LSU pulled away late for the win. Out of an 18-all tie, the visitors scored three unanswered points and the Gamecocks would not be able to level the score again.
2nd SET: Both offenses would be swinging away freely in set two, but this time it would be the Gamecocks who were able to make the necessary plays late in a 26-24 win. The home side hit .429 with 18 kills as a unit, with Fletcher going errorless with seven kills on eight swings. She had plenty of backup in the second, though with four other Gamecocks putting away two or more kills, including four from Alayna Johnson. South Carolina built a healthy lead, going up by as many as seven points, but LSU used a 7-1 run to cut the score back to one at 19-18 and eventually tied the score at 22. The Tigers denied the first set point opportunity for South Carolina, but a kill from Lauren McCutcheon clinched the win on the second opportunity at 25-24.
3rd SET: The Gamecock attack kept up the pace in the third, hitting .400 with 17 more kills in their most decisive set win of the afternoon, a 25-21 win. Contributions came from all over, with four different Gamecocks pitching in three kills or more. Alayna Johnson led the way with five kills, with setter Claire Wilson converting all three of her attacks into points, including the final two kills of the game.
4th SET: LSU ramped up the pressure behind the service line in the final two sets and it paid major dividends, starting with a 25-19 win to force a fifth set. While it didn’t always score off aces, the serving pressure forced the Gamecock offense into a more predictable product and the Tiger defense finished with an 8-0 advantage in blocks over the final two sets. The zero blocks hurt the Gamecocks even more than the eight for LSU, as the Tigers hit .394 in the fourth and .600 in the fifth. Despite the lopsided…