COMPARING WINS AND LOSSES…
- The serve game has been vital. In wins, South Carolina is averaging almost a full service ace per set more than opponents (1.55 to 0.88) while also committing 10 fewer errors. In losses, that ratio is completely flipped, with opponents averaging 1.74 aces per set and the Gamecocks dropping to 0.92. The team is 5-1 when finishing with more aces in a match and just 3-9 when allowing as many or more aces to opponents.
- Blocking has also been a major factor, with a 7-1 record when out-blocking opponents but 1-9 when they do not. In 10 losses, opponents are averaging 3.05 blocks per set, compared to 1.90 for Carolina.
- For hitting efficiency, South Carolina is hitting .237 in wins compared to .171 in losses. The opponent’s splits are even greater, though, with a .170 percentage in Gamecock wins and .266 in Gamecock losses.
ANADI ROUNDING OUT HER GAME
Junior middle Oby Anadi entered the 2022 season as a relative unknown, playing in just 34 total sets in her 2021 freshman campaign. She quickly made herself known as a blocker, finishing with 120 total blocks, but still was working her way into the team’s offensive game plan. The 2023 season has proven out that growth, as she approaches career offensive numbers. Anadi totaled 119 kills over her first two seasons (41 matches), but so far in 18 games her kill total sits at 107. In the win over Alabama on Oct. 18, she set a new single-season career high with her 103rd kill, surpassing 2022’s total of 100 in 11 fewer matches.
CHASING 1,000
With a team-high 16 kills against No. 4 Florida on Oct. 1, senior Riley Whitesides surpassed 900 career kills. She is just the seventh woman since 2001 to reach 900. The quest for 1,000 career kills is in the home stretch with nine games left on the schedule, currently the Greenville native needs just 29 more kills to reach the milestone. Her chase was bolstered by a recent hot streak in October, where she is averaging 14 kills per game.
Only 16 Gamecocks in the 50-season history of the program have reached 1,000 kills and only two – Mikayla Shields and Mikayla Robinson – reached it over the last decade. On Sept. 24, Whitesides also reached 1,000 career points in the team’s match at Missouri, making her the fourth Gamecock in the last decade and ninth overall since 2001 to reach that milestone.
VOLLEYBALL IS IN THEIR BLOOD
A number of Gamecocks have strong family ties to the sport, both past and present.
Freshman setter Sydney Floyd’s…