COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Gamecock volleyball team lost in straight sets to Ole Miss (13-5, 3-3 SEC) at home Friday night. The team is now 10-6 for the season with a 1-4 conference record. The offense was slowed by a tough serving effort by the visitors, leading to its lowest kill total of the SEC season to date and just a .162 hitting percentage. Riley Whitesides led the attack with a game-high 15 kills.
1st SET: The passing issues evolved from the start, as the Rebels pulled away for a 25-18 win in the opener. South Carolina had just nine kills total, six coming from Whitesides, but still found itself ahead at the first break of the night with a 15-14 lead. It was all Ole Miss from there, starting with a 6-0 run out of that timeout and the Gamecocks would get no closer than three points the rest of the way.
2nd SET: The offense saw an uptick in set two, thanks to the efforts of Oby Anadi in the middle. The senior converted five kills on just seven swings to help Carolina hit .333 as a team, but Ole Miss matched the offensive production and won the battle behind the service line to win 27-25 and take the 2-0 lead. While the Gamecocks bettered Ole Miss with 16 kills, the Rebels had four service aces and just two errors behind the line, compared to two aces and five errors from Carolina. Ole Miss led for most of the early going, but a quick 3-0 run behind a Sarah Jordan ace and Alayna Johnson solo block leveled the score late at 20-20. The visitors pushed back ahead and had set point opportunities at 24-22 and 24-23 that were denied by a Whitesides kill and ace from Liz McElveen, respectively, but the Gamecocks were never able to earn a set point opportunity and gave up the final two decisive points on unforced errors.
3rd SET: South Carolina slipped back into its bad habits from set one in the final frame, the offense hit just .132 thanks to five Ole Miss blocks in a 25-19 final score. Whitesides shouldered the bulk of the offense, taking 13 swings and finishing with five kills, but the team was unable to string together point-scoring runs to maintain an early lead. Out of a 12-10 advantage, South Carolina failed to score consecutive points from there on out and saw the lead turn into a 21-16 deficit and soon the final margin.
UP NEXT: The action resumes on Sunday, Oct. 20 with a 1 p.m. match against Oklahoma for the first time as SEC rivals. Coverage can be found on the SEC Network.