OXFORD, MISS. – South Carolina fell in a tight five-set road match at Ole Miss Friday night, giving up a 2-1 set advantage to fall to 6-6 for the year and 0-3 in SEC play. Kiune Fletcher had a career night in the loss, with 20 kills, but the Rebels (8-6, 2-1 SEC) came on strong down the stretch to defend home court.
1st SET: South Carolina opened with a steady performance, taking the set 25-21 by keeping the Rebels from making any big runs. The defense was able to side out Ole Miss at almost 70 percent, with a 4-0 run early the only long stretch the home side could put together. The Gamecocks won a key challenge with the score tied at 18, which sparked a 6-1 run down the stretch to set up the win. Kiune Fletcher was a big part of the run, going for a kill and back-to-back blocks, the senior finished with four kills, three blocks and a pair of digs. Overall, the team had 14 kills on a .250 hitting percentage, with five different attackers finishing with two or more kills.
2nd SET: Ole Miss opened the second on a 6-2 run to burn a quick timeout for South Carolina. The Rebels were able to maintain the multi-point lead, which grew to as many as six points, and held off a pair of Gamecock rallies for a 25-22 win to even the sets. South Carolina was able to cut the deficit to two at 16-14 and nearly had a late run to cut it back again at 20-18, but lost a challenge and would get no closer. Seniors Riley Whitesides (four kills) and Ellie Ruprich (three) led the offense, but the Rebels countered with 17 kills and a team hitting percentage over .300.
3rd SET: The two sides battled early in the third, with neither side able to grab momentum until a 3-0 Rebel run made it a 15-12 lead for the home side. South Carolina matched the Rebels point-for-point and finally were able to erase the deficit with a torrid finish, outscoring Ole Miss 8-2 down the stretch for the 25-21 win and a 2-1 set lead. Five different hitters contributed a kill among those eight points, Ruprich provided the spark late with a kill and solo block to help her side pull away. The Gamecock offense had perhaps their best individual set of the season, finishing with 18 kills while hitting .548, committing just one error.
4th SET: Ole Miss responded in a must-win set, slowing the Gamecock offense with its best defensive numbers of the night in a 25-19 win. The Rebels matched its block total from the first three sets (4) by the time it got to 20 points, building a 20-16 advantage. Overall,…