Gamecocks drop below .500 for first time in 2013
South Carolina fell at No. 20 Kentucky and at Georgia this weekend, and did so without its team leader in kills.
For both matches this weekend, outside hitter Juliette Thévenin was forced to watch her team do battle as she sat courtside. Setter Kellie McNeil also missed both games due to a lingering foot problem, and middle back Jacqy Angermiller was forced to miss the match against Georgia because of an illness.
“Well we were missing three starters, so it wasn’t our best product on the floor,” head coach Scott Swanson said. “We had to put people in positions they don’t normally play and try different lineups that we did not have time to practice.”
The Gamecocks (12-13, 3-9 SEC) dropped a three-set match against Kentucky (18-6, 10-3 SEC), losing to the scores of 25-17, 25-15 and 25-19.
Kentucky got off to a quick start in the first set, capitalizing off three kills by freshman outside hitter Anni Thomasson, who was named SEC Offensive Player of the Week, to force a 4-0 lead. The Gamecocks were able to muster a couple two-point runs by way of four Wildcat attack errors, cutting the lead to a 6-4 mark. Scoring seemingly at will, Kentucky pushed the margin to an 18-10 advantage by using six different players to record kills through a 12-7 rally. A final kill by senior right side Whitney Billings would give Kentucky the set win.
The Wildcats set the pace early in each of the final two sets, as they took a 3-0 lead in each set. Kentucky shot a match-low .159 in the second set, but bounced back to shoot .394 to get the win over the Gamecocks. South Carolina was able to benefit off multiple attack errors by Kentucky in the second set, although they were unable to break the Wildcats’ unstoppable momentum. Kentucky would maintain a comfortable lead throughout the set, and ultimately took the win 25-15.
South Carolina would fall victim to three three-point bursts by the Wildcats during the first 15 points of the third set. The Gamecocks would not be able to recover, as they would suffer their closest loss of the match, a 25-19 defeat at the hands of the Wildcats.
The Gamecocks failed to salvage this weekend as they fell to Georgia 3-0 to the scores of 25-16, 25-11 and 25-19. The loss to the Bulldogs (18-8, 8-6 SEC) dropped South Carolina’s win percentage under .500 for the first time this season.
Coming out strong in the first set, South Carolina went point-for-point with Georgia and eventually took a 10-6 lead behind a pair of Sarah Blomgren kills. The deficit forced Georgia to take its first timeout of the match. The Bulldogs would respond by taking the next five points, and eleven out of the next 14 points to gain a 17-13 lead. Scoring only three more points in the set, the Gamecocks would surrender the first set 25-16.
South Carolina would not see a lead in its favor until the third set, as they dropped the second set 25-11. The third set would prove to be more competitive early on for the Gamecocks, but a couple of long rallies put South Carolina in a 20-12 hole. The Gamecocks attempted a late comeback, scoring four straight points capped by a Gabrielle Rubeis service ace, but would fall short 25-19.
“We did the best we could with what we had,” Swanson said. “But it wasn’t enough for who we were playing against, that’s for sure.”
The Gamecocks will travel to No. 4 Florida Wednesday to face the Gators. The match is set for 6 p.m., and will be nationally televised on ESPNU.