TUSCALOOSA, ALA. – South Carolina volleyball begins its final stretch of five games with two on the road at Alabama, Nov. 11-12. The Gamecocks (11-12, 5-8 SEC) have won three games in a row at Alabama, he two sides have traded extended winning streaks in the series with South Carolina at 6-1 in the last seven meetings following a stretch of seven consecutive wins for the Crimson Tide. Both the 7 p.m. ET Friday match and the 3 p.m. ET Sunday match will air on the SEC Network+.
NOTABLES: OLE MISS SERIES
- With the win on Sunday over Ole Miss, South Carolina secured 10 home wins for the year. It is the third time in head coach Tom Mendoza’s five seasons in Columbia. Overall, it is the 10th time in the 26 seasons of home games in the Carolina Volleyball Center with double-digit home wins.
- The win snapped a four-game losing streak, which was tied for the longest streak under Mendoza.
- Kiune Fletcher entered the Sunday rematch with Ole Miss with a career-high of eight kills before finishing with 15 on Sunday. The junior also reached a new high with six total blocks.
- With her team-leading 15 kills, Fletcher is now the sixth different hitter to pace the team in kills for a match so far this season. She is just the second Gamecock this season to hit over .500 with 10 double-digit kills, the other being McKenzie Moorman against Sacred Heart in the season opener on Aug. 26 (.556 with 19 kills).
- Along with her double-double of 11 kills and 10 digs, Riley Whitesides also was perfect in serve-receive on Sunday. The junior was served 41 out of a possible 69 serves in the match and was not aced a single time. Including Saturday’s match, Whitesides was served 95 times without committing a single reception error.
- Freshman Alayna Johnson battled back from a slow start to be a key offensive weapon for the team in Sunday’s win; after going without a kill on seven swings with four attack errors in set one, she finished with seven kills on 17 swings without another error in the final three frames.
- Ellie Ruprich led the team with eight blocks (two solo) on Sunday and continues to climb up the program record book in the category. Her 112 total blocks with five matches to play already matches a career high and moves her into the top 10 for total blocks in a single season. For her career, she passed Belita Salters (2005-08) for eight place in career solo blocks, now with 68.
SCOUTING THE CRIMSON TIDE
Alabama has some strong pieces in place under first-year head…