COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina rallied back from an opening-set loss to defeat Oklahoma (8-7, 2-4 SEC) in four sets on Sunday afternoon. The Gamecocks (11-6, 2-4 SEC) turned the tide behind the service line, taking advantage of an error-prone Sooner squad to win decisive second and third sets and hold on to close out in the fourth. Riley Whitesides led the team with 19 kills, with Tireh Smith providing big swings late on the way to 12 kills on a .476 hitting percentage.
1st SET: The opening game was an absolute shootout, the two teams combined for just 17 total digs, Oklahoma took it by a 25-22 score behind 17 kills and a team hitting percentage of .536. South Carolina was efficient, hitting .320, but were not able to keep the torrid pace of the Sooners, who were only truly slowed by their six service errors. A back-and-forth start started to lean Oklahoma midway through the set, South Carolina held a 13-9 lead at the first break but it would be all Sooners after with a 6-1 run giving the visitors their first lead. Neither team could maintain a meaningful advantage until Oklahoma ran off five unanswered points late to turn a 21-19 South Carolina lead into its first set-point opportunity at 24-21.
2nd SET: South Carolina shored up its game plan behind the service line and quieted the Sooner attack in set two. Oklahoma hit almost .500 points lower from its performance in the first, going from .536 to just .074 and 10 kills in a 25-13 loss to even the match. The Gamecocks only needed nine kills to get the win, relying on five more Sooner service errors and a game-high four blocks by their defense. Freshman Victoria Harris took over serving duties in a 5-3 Gamecock lead early and helped the team reel off eight points in a row to put the set out of reach, Oklahoma committed seven unforced errors in that stretch and would get no closer than eight points the rest of the way.
3rd SET: Errors continued to haunt Oklahoma in the third, the visitors hit .065 with just nine kills compared to seven errors and the Gamecocks won 25-17 for the 2-1 advantage. South Carolina’s offense had to manage through five blocks by the Sooners in set three, but had four different players go for multiple kills and the 1-2 punch of Whitesides and Smith combined for 10 of the team’s 15 kills. Another strong start made the difference, Alayna Johnson dropped in an ace during a 4-0 run to get the team ahead 5-2 early and the advantage would soon balloon up to six points…