Swanson: “We’re not a very good team right now”
The volleyball team had a tough go of it this past weekend, dropping matches against Alabama (3-0) and undefeated No. 6 Missouri (3-0). Despite not winning a single set against the Crimson Tide, coach Scott Swanson’s team showed they still have some fight in them after losing the first two sets by only two points against a group that, on paper, was supposed to win anyways. Juliette Thévenin had another career day, recording her eighth double-double of the season with 18 kills and 11 blocks. Dessaa Legros added another 10 kills while Jacgy Angermiller did her part at the net, tallying four blocks on the day.
In their penultimate home game against the Tigers, many had high hopes of unseating the highly ranked bunch from Columbia, Mo., and notching a gutsy win in an otherwise dismal season. These hopes did not come to fruition, as the Gamecocks were decimated in three quick sets (25-13, 25-12, 25-16) by the polished Missouri crew. The story of the day for the Gamecocks were the 38 errors they committed which accounted for more than half of Missouri’s points and put them at a significant disadvantage from the first serve.
“We didn’t really give ourselves a chance to compete with them,” Swanson said. “We made 38 total errors. To give a team like that, that’s already so good, 38 free points is inexcusable really.”
Even Juliette Thévenin, the Gamecocks’ star player and serious candidate for SEC Player of the Year, had an off day, recording only 10 points, her fourth-lowest total of the season, along with 10 errors of her own. Despite all their shortcomings, the Gamecocks acknowledged that Missouri was just the better team that day.
“I think they do everything well. They pass the ball well, they serve tough, they are the most efficient hitting team in the country, they have the best setter in the country, they have one of the best middles, one of the best outsides, one of the best right sides,” Swanson said.
Swanson’s praise went even further.
“They’re gearing up to go be a final four team, I mean I think they’re that good,” Swanson said.
Junior Michaela Christiaansen shared the sentiment.
“I think it’s just hard because they’re so scrappy and so good at defense and they have a tall, blocking front line that it’s just really hard to score in general,” Christiaansen said.
High spirits are hard to come by these days at the Volleyball Competition Facility, as the Gamecocks have been shut out in each of their last 5 matches, and with the season coming to a close, optimism has become even rarer.
“We’re not a very good team right now, and we’re trying to learn from it,” Swanson said. “We’re trying to do the best we can to stay positive.”
Christiaansen agrees that the young team has a lot to learn.
“I hate losing more than anything and I think it’s hard to bounce back from that, but we’re a young team and we have a lot to learn,” Christiaansen added.
For now, the team is just focusing on getting better, getting back to basics and taking the rest of the season as a learning opportunity. The players are particularly excited for senior night, hoping to send players like Lindsay Craft and Juliette Thévenin, who have had a profound effect on the USC volleyball program, off on a good note.