The South Carolina volleyball team will look for some success at home when they face Tennessee on Wednesday.
The team has been much more successful at home this season, going 7-6, and hopes to salvage a few more home wins to finish out the year.
“We play better at home,” head coach Scott Swanson said. “Our gym is a tough place to come into and play. We like our chances more at home and are looking forward to playing these next few matches.”
The Gamecocks will have to get through Tennessee, though, who has had recent success against them. The Volunteers have won the past five meetings at the Carolina Volleyball Center and won their most recent face off in Tennessee last month. Tennessee won the match 3-2 on Oct. 18, but the Gamecocks think they can take this match.
“We were missing Darian Dozier, and it went five, and we should have won,” Swanson said about the last meeting. “Had we had Dozier, it would have been a completely different outcome. We’re looking to get some payback on Wednesday and finish the rest of the season with some momentum.”
A big key to Wednesday’s match is having a lot of their players back from injuries. Dozier, who has constantly led the Gamecocks all season, did not play during the last matchup but will be ready for this one. Junior Jacqy Angermiller will also be back from a concussion, which should also help in the match. Angermiller had a great performance against the Volunteers during their last meeting, recording 14 kills.
“We’ve rarely had our normal starters this past month because of injuries,” Swanson said. “It’s been a major cause of the losses. We’ve lost close matches that we’ve been very competitive in because we didn’t have our top players.”
The return of these key players can hopefully help the Gamecocks through their final matches of the season.
South Carolina is coming off of two losses this past weekend to Auburn and Alabama that lowered its away record to 1-8. The Gamecocks will face Alabama once more this season on Nov. 22.
“We’re hoping to get two or even three wins out of the last home games,” Swanson said. “We’ve had so many injuries so we’re hoping to get some respect back with our record and get the win.”
The Gamecocks will host Mississippi State on Nov. 20 and Alabama on Nov. 22 for their final home game. They will then travel to Arkansas on Nov. 25 and Missouri on Nov. 27 to finish out the season.
“I want our team to keep fighting,” Swanson said. “We have two tough road matches to finish off and a rough travel schedule with a lot of back to back matches. We’re a team that’s been fighting and just haven’t had the luck with being healthy. But we’re a team that will fight and be competitive and hopefully the luck will finally go our way.”
The Gamecocks hope to establish that momentum Wednesday.