COLUMBIA, S.C. – A well-balanced South Carolina offense would prove too much for the College of Charleston on Tuesday night, the Gamecocks out-hit the Cougars .297 to .082 in a three-set sweep. The victory runs South Carolina’s record to 5-1 for the season, with junior Alayna Johnson hitting .400 with 14 kills to lead the offense and a Gamecock block that put down a season-best 11 denials over the three sets.
1st SET: South Carolina rolled to a decisive 25-12 win in set one, limiting Charleston to just eight kills total while hitting .393 on offense. The Cougars would limit the contributions of a red-hot Riley Whitesides, but four other Gamecocks would respond with two or more kills apiece, led by four from Johnson. While she wasn’t able to find her rhythm on the attack in set one, Whitesides still added two blocks, two service aces and five digs to keep the Gamecocks humming in a wire-to-wire victory.
2nd SET: Both sides would be out of sync in set two, but the Gamecocks were able to get right late in a 25-21 win and a 2-0 set lead. Charleston’s blockers would record four blocks and the Carolina offense would add in five more unforced errors on the attack to finish with a game-low .074 hitting percentage. The Gamecock defense maintained its hold on the Cougars, though, also recording four blocks and forcing almost as many errors (8) as kills (9) to the visitors. Oby Anadi had her best set offensively when the team needed her most, cashing in on four kills off just five swings. Back-to-back blocks from Tireh Smith and Ellie Ruprich pushed it to an eight-point lead at 18-10, and after surviving a stretch of errors that cut the score back to 19-17, Carolina would pull away again with Anadi sealing the win on a kill.
3rd SET: The two offenses got right for set three, leading to a back-and-forth affair that featured 16 ties and four lead changes before the Gamecocks capped the match with a 25-20 win. Neither team led by more than one point until Charleston took a 16-14 lead, but South Carolina responded with a 7-2 run from that moment on and never gave the lead back. The Gamecock defense had three blocks in that game-changing run, while the offense leaned on Johnson to bring them home. The junior pin did just that, leading the team to a game-high 17 kills with seven of her own.
NOTABLE
- This is the fourth win streak of five or more games in head coach Tom Mendoza’s tenure.
- Tireh Smith continued to show her growth, putting away a…