CORAL GABLES, FLA. – South Carolina volleyball has two chances to pick up not only its first road win of the fall, but a quality road win as it heads to South Florida for the Hurricane Invitational. The two-day event begins Friday at 6 p.m. against host Miami (7-2), then the team faces its first ranked foe of 2022 when it takes on No. 20 Oregon (4-2). Friday’s match will air on the ACCNX, Saturday versus the Ducks will have a video stream.
CINCINNATI SERIES NOTABLES
- The Gamecock fans showed up in a big way, surpassing a sellout capacity with a season-high 1,724 total attendance Friday night.
- Ellie Ruprich’s nine total blocks in the series opener matches the program’s rally-scoring era record for a three-set match. The total has been reached four times total, three of the four times are by Ruprich.
- Along with her nine total blocks, four of Ruprich’s stuffs were solo efforts. That ties her with four other Gamecocks for the second most solo blocks in a three-set match in the rally-scoring era.
- The team’s 14 blocks Friday night are tied for a season high, matching Sept. 6’s five-set total at Clemson. The 14 blocks in three sets is tied for the fourth-highest team total in Carolina’s rally-scoring era.
- Dalaney Hans set a career best with three service aces, even dating back to her four seasons of action at Georgia. The setter also had five digs and 16 assists for the Friday match.
- South Carolina’s .486 hitting percentage for the Friday game is the second-highest for a match under head coach Tom Mendoza, behind only a .494 clip against High Point on Sept. 18, 2021.
- The Gamecocks had five hitters with five or more kills on Friday, none of them hit worse than .400.
- Camilla Covas and Dalaney Hans led the serving group with three aces each in Saturday’s win; Covas had just two aces total over 33 sets played in the 2021 season but now is up to eight this fall with just seven errors. Hans matched her career high for aces on Saturday, previously set in the weekend opener against the Bearcats.
- The team finished with eight service aces and just three errors behind the line; it’s a season high for aces and a season low for errors.
- Ellie Ruprich added seven more blocks on Saturday, coming off nine in Friday’s opener. The junior already is at 40 total blocks just seven games into her junior season.
- Kiune Fletcher was an efficient 7-for-9 on swings Saturday, not committing a single error. The junior now has 50 kills this fall, already more…