COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina volleyball plays host to an event-filled weekend to open the month of November, the Gamecocks (8-12, 2-9 SEC) have two matches in the friendly confines of the Carolina Volleyball Center. The team with a Friday night match at 7 p.m. against No. 13 Kentucky on the SEC Network+, the third matchup against a ranked opponent in the last four games. Friday will also be the program’s Alumnae Night, with over 20 former Gamecocks coming home to Columbia.
The weekend wraps up on Sunday at noon with a rematch against Ole Miss. That will be the team’s Senior Day, where seniors Caitlin Crawford, Kiune Fletcher, Ellie Ruprich and Riley Whitesides will be recognized before the match. The game will be carried nationally on the SEC Network.
WEEK SIX NOTABLES
- Senior Ellie Ruprich became just the eighth woman in program history to reach 400 career blocks thanks to a five-block night against No. 10 Arkansas.
- Ruprich is just the third woman in the modern scoring era (since 2001) to reach 400 career blocks. The previous Gamecocks were Darian Dozier (2012-15) and Mikayla Robinson (2017-21).
- All five of Ruprich’s blocks were solo stuffs, moving her up to 93 for her career. She trails Mikayla Robinson by two solo blocks for the rally scoring era record.
- The five solo blocks for Ruprich are the most by a Gamecock in a four-set match since Stephanie Pflughaupt against Rice 37 years ago (10/18/1986).
- The Gamecocks set a single-season home attendance record, with 722 in attendance Friday that pushed the season total to 19,240 fans making their way to the team’s 10 home games to date. With four more home games still to come, the team surpassed the previous record of 18,797, set during the 2018 season.
- Arkansas’ 11 service aces are the most allowed by Carolina since Sept. 10, 2021 (12 vs. Santa Clara).
- With 12 kills Friday, Riley Whitesides now has double-digit kills in seven of the last eight matches.
- Campbell Paris led the team with 13 kills, she has cracked 10 or more kills in four of the last six matches.
- South Carolina’s .092 hitting percentage at LSU was the second time this season dipping under .100, the previous low being .018 at Arkansas on Sept. 22. The team’s 25 total kills were also the second-lowest of the season, also behind the Arkansas road match.
- The defense’s two total blocks at LSU are the fewest in a match since Nov. 23, 2018 (at Florida). Senior Ellie Ruprich recorded zero blocks while playing in a full match…