WACO, TEXAS – South Carolina volleyball lost its NCAA tournament first round match in four sets to No. 23 Dayton (30-2) on Thursday night in the Waco sub-regional. Riley Whitesides ended her career on a record-setting note, her 22 kills are a NCAA tournament record for the program, for a match of any length. The Gamecocks finish the season with a 16-12 overall record.
1st SET: Two sides battling with long rallies to start, Whitesides had four kills in the team’s first eight points. Gamecocks held 10-9 lead early, but Dayton scored six of the next eight points to flip the score. Dayton led 15-12 at the first break thanks to a three-point advantage behind the service line and were able to limit the Gamecock scoring runs down the stretch in a 25-20 win. Service errors would ultimately be the key, the Gamecocks had four more than the Flyers and it slowed the team’s chances at a momentum-shifting run. Following a 3-0 run to take a 5-3 lead early, the Gamecocks did not score consecutive points again for the remainder of the set.
2nd SET: The serving game got Dayton off to another strong start in the second, the Flyers scored seven of their first 11 points off four aces and two service errors for the Gamecocks, forcing early timeouts for Carolina. Dayton would finish with five aces, and four more service errors for the Gamecocks would keep the lead comfortable for the Flyers in a 25-15 win to take the two-set advantage.
3rd SET: Now in must-win mode, the Gamecocks got off to a strong start in the third. Carolina played clean on offense, out-hitting Dayton .600 to .182 on the way to a 13-8 lead to force a timeout from the Flyers. After a quiet second set, Whitesides scored four of those 13 points off kills and got offensive contributions from four other teammates in the run. The Flyers answered back after their called timeout, stringing together two separate 3-0 runs and a 4-0 run to eventually push back ahead at 19-17. South Carolina would tie the score up at 20, 22 and 23, then Whitesides came through in the clutch with a service ace to get the team a set-point opportunity. The Flyers were able to deny the first attempt, but Whitesides would put away her seventh kill of the set and the Gamecocks used a Dayton attack error to close out the 26-24 win.
4th SET: Dayton’s offense came out hot in the fourth, breaking the game open with eight kills on its first 19 swings. The Flyers used an 12-0 scoring run to turn a 7-5 advantage into a…