ATHENS, GA. – South Carolina volleyball begins the final stretch of the season on the road Friday night, traveling to Athens to face Georgia (15-11, 6-8 SEC). It will be the team’s lone match of the week, with three games total left on the schedule. First serve Friday will be at 7 p.m. on the SEC Network+.
Unquestionably the most hotly contested SEC rivlary for South Carolina over the last decade, the Gamecocks have a 6-4 record against Georgia over the last 10 matchups, with six of those 10 going to five sets. Under Tom Mendoza, the team is 7-3 overall and 2-2 in Athens. In the first meeting this season, back on Oct. 11, South Carolina’s offense hit .333, its best efficiency to date, and freshman Campbell Paris led the way with 18 kills on a .483 hitting percentage.
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
Georgia enters Friday on a three-game losing streak, albeit with all three losses coming against top four teams in the conference (Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri). The Bulldogs had been on a hot streak prior, going 5-1 in the SEC after the loss at South Carolina on Oct. 11, highlighted by an eye-opening sweep of No. 8 Arkansas on Nov. 1 that knocked the Razorbacks out of the top spot in the conference.
On offense, Georgia is led by standout senior Sophie Fischer. The dual-threat middle leads the SEC in points per set, averaging 5.22, and ranks fourth in the conference in kills (4.14 per set), second in blocks (1.32) and sixth in service aces (0.40). Fifth-year senior Kacie Evans is close behind, averaging 3.66 kills per set in SEC play. Defensively, the Bulldogs are fifth in the SEC with a .210 opponent hitting percentage and keep opponents off-balance with 1.71 service aces per set, good for second in the SEC, with three different players ranked in the top 10 among SEC athletes for aces per set. As a reference, South Carolina’s leader for aces this season, Riley Whitesides (with 18), would rank fifth on Georgia.
FIRST MEETING NOTABLES (OCT. 11)
- Campbell Paris’ 18 kills are the highest by a Gamecock freshman since Riley Whitesides had 19 at LSU on March 13, 2021. Her career-high for kills was matched with a career-best .483 hitting percentage – the third-highest hitting percentage for a Gamecock with 10 or more kills in a match this season.
- South Carolina’s offense hit .333 in the win, the best efficiency of the season and highest since Sept. 10, 2022 (vs. Cincinnati). In the 95 total sets from the team’s two setters – Kimmie Thompson and Claire…