COLUMBIA, S.C. – After a weekend off, South Carolina volleyball kicks back into action with two road games this weekend. The Gamecocks (9-4, 0-2 SEC) are hunting for their first conference win of the fall, heading to Georgia on Friday, Oct. 11 before going south to No. 19 Florida on Sunday, Oct. 13. Both matches will be broadcast on the SEC Network+.
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
After dropping four games in a row, Georgia comes into Friday’s as the only other winless team in conference play besides the Gamecocks. It’s a slow start from high preseason hopes, where the team was picked fourth in the SEC coaches preseason poll. Last season, the team also opened conference play with a three-game loss streak, but eventually finished its campaign 19-12, 10-8. Georgia will look to its offensive leaders to bring them back into the conversation. Graduate middle blocker Sophie Fischer, the reigning SEC Player of the Year, remains one of the best combination of offense and defense of any middle in the nation. As the second player in Georgia’s history to earn the Player of the Year title, Fischer finished last season with 27 double-digit kill matches and continues to lead the Bulldogs in both kills (180) and blocks (78) entering the weekend. With All-SEC pin Kacie Evans graduating in 2023, the team hit the transfer portal in search of help for Fischer, bringing in Bianna Muoneke (outside hitter, Texas A&M), Erykah Lovett (outside hitter, Tennessee), and Kendal Kemp (middle blocker, Auburn). Lovett and Muoneke have done their part and then some, ranking second and third behind Fischer for kills.
SCOUTING THE #19 GATORS
Florida looks for redemption in its South Carolina match-up after back-to-back losses in SEC play. In its most recent game against Texas, Florida recorded its lowest hitting percentage of the season at .146. Despite the lull, the Gators remain at the top of the SEC in service aces (2.13 per set) and hitting percentage (.300) thanks to the return of all-american setter Alexis Stucky from a knee injury early last season. After finishing 2023 with a 19-10 record, going 10-8 in conference matches without Stucky, the Gators landed in the top 15 of the American Coaches Volleyball Associations (ACVA) poll for the 33rd consecutive year, debuting at 11. Sophomore outside hitter Kennedy Martin continues her streak of recording double-digit kills in every match she has played as a Gator, following up on a freshman campaign that landed her second-team…