Gamecocks top Arkansas to finish with 18-14 record
Gamecock volleyball closed out its season on a winning note with a thrilling victory over Arkansas on Friday.
It took five sets to settle the home contest on Senior Day. USC took the final set with a 15-10 score after winning the second and third and surrendering the first and fourth to the Razorbacks.
The Gamecocks’ seniors truly did make it their day, with 52 assists and seven digs from setter Taylor Bruns and seven digs to go with a career-high three aces from outside hitter Christina Glover in their final match for South Carolina.
“There’s just a little more special flavor to it when it’s Senior Day,” coach Scott Swanson said. “I knew we were going to get our seniors’ best effort, and we definitely got everyone’s best effort.”
The season was an up-and-down one for the team, which won three out of its final five contests after losing five consecutive matches, all in the SEC, and finishing with an overall record of 18-14. A six-win season in the conference meant one more SEC win than the previous season.
“We were pretty fired up to have a winning season,” Swanson said. “That was a pretty important accomplishment for us to ensure we’re improving and getting better.”
In his second year, Swanson added four wins to his first campaign and led USC to its second winning season in a decade.
With the two seniors departing, the future of South Carolina volleyball looks to be in good hands.
Junior Juliette Thévenin left her mark on the concluding contest of the season, leading all players with 26 kills, narrowly missing her career high of 27. Sophomore Bethanie Thomas ended the match with a double-double, posting 11 kills and 10 digs, and redshirt sophomore Cara Howley topped her season high, hitting .571 on the day.
“We’re going to continue to expect Juliette Thévenin to step up, as she was an All-SEC performer this year,” Swanson said.
Thévenin was recognized by the Southeastern Conference on Monday with a spot on the all-conference second team. She is the first Gamecock to receive the accolade since Belita Salters earned All-SEC honors in 2008. Thévenin ended the season with a total of 453 kills and 4.31 kills per set, finishing second in the SEC in that category, trailing Missouri junior Lisa Henning.
Swanson also noted the strong seasons of freshmen Jenna Allen and Darian Dozier, and said he will look to them for increased roles come next summer and into the fall.
“It was good to see the young players getting enough experience to where we’re positive they’re going to get a great spring under their belt and come back and be even better,” he said.
The first batch of Swanson-era recruits are slated to join the team next season, and in his third year at the helm, he will continue the rebuilding process.
“We want to make sure we’re providing a good experience and we’re training at a high level, Swanson said. “Somewhere within all that we expect to win more matches than we lose and start talking about getting to the NCAA tournament.”