Epley says upcoming match against archrival ‘could wake everybody up’
After falling to No. 16 Michigan, the Gamecocks will look to rebound on Sunday as they travel to archrival Clemson in a match that head coach Kevin Epley says “could wake everybody up.”
“Anytime a South Carolina team goes into that environment, it’s going to be contentious,” Epley said.
Clemson is also coming off of a loss to then-No. 9 Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Ala. last Sunday.
Epley said the Tigers have some “big hitters” and pointed to their successful track record over the last few seasons.
“Their strength is just in their talent,” he said. “At any moment they can hurt you. We’re going to have to be that team that is playing a little smarter.”
In preparation for the upcoming challenge, Epley stressed attention to detail during practices and matches. He noted that the smallest actions could decide the fate of a match.
“We’re really just trying to get better than last week by a margin of a few percentage points,” he said. “The differences in these matches is so often in the details.”
Epley explained that the Gamecocks’ strategy is to simply make small improvements each day. Part of that begins with commitment.
“We’ve been trying this week, and today in particular, to try and help them understand that the commitment starts in practice,” Epley said, adding that improvement is an inch-by-inch process. “It is one thing to say it, but it is another thing to actually work through it and see improvements. I think from that process, they start to gain trust in themselves and that they actually can improve week to week.”
This week, the Gamecocks focused on enhancing their doubles game by “playing with intention.” South Carolina also looks to learn from Michigan’s aggressive style of play. Epley explained that last weekend the Wolverines were the offensive team and that the Gamecocks did not have an answer.
“We were too apt to just give them neutral balls when we really should have been putting some pressure on them,” Epley said.
Despite the close loss and the test looming ahead, Epley feels that the Gamecocks are confident heading into Clemson.
“At this level, it is more of who is willing to dig a little deeper, who is willing to test themselves a little more, fight a little more,” he said. Epley emphasized the importance of playing each set independently of the other and “scrapping” for each point.
“I think they’re ready to do that this weekend,” he said.