The South Carolina volleyball team fell to No. 3 Kentucky 3-0 on Sept. 24 at Memorial Coliseum in Lexington, Kentucky. The match marked the beginning of conference play for the Gamecocks.
To open the first set, South Carolina came out strong, showcasing strong defense that allowed them to stick close with Kentucky.
Multiple kills from senior outside hitter Alayna Johnson, junior outside hitter Nia Hall and freshman outside hitter Victoria Hill helped South Carolina, despite Kentucky slowly pulling away.
The Gamecocks committed service and attack errors throughout the set, which ultimately allowed the Wildcats to secure the first set, 25-17.
Despite Kentucky quickly earning the first 2 points of the second set, Johnson, Hall and Hill stepped up to put away kill after kill, that caused Kentucky to call timeout after the Gamecocks built up an 8-3 lead in the second set.
South Carolina continued to build upon their lead with more kills from all three outside hitters and from Kentucky errors.
The Gamecocks strong offensive momentum continued after Hall and Johnson both got kills, as well as service aces from Hill and senior setter Kimmie Thompson.
However, service and attack errors once again caught up to South Carolina. As a result, Kentucky slowly began to cut into the South Carolina lead, until both teams found themselves in a tie at 21-21.
South Carolina and Kentucky continuously exchanged points until Kentucky was able to take the second set, 29-27.
South Carolina opened the third set by winning the first point. Kentucky capitalized off momentum from the second set, and was quick to start off on the right foot with a 7-3 lead after a quick 5-1 run.
The Wildcats continued to remain dominant both offensively and defensively, and despite strong effort from the Gamecocks, Kentucky won the third set 25-18 and secured the match.
Noble returns home
Head coach Sarah Rumely Noble made her way back to Memorial Coliseum, her home from 2006 to 2009 as a member of the Kentucky Wildcats. While there, she was a four-time All-SEC settler and two-time AVCA All-American.
She was also named SEC Freshman Player of the Year in 2006 and SEC Player of the year honor in 2008. She helped Kentucky make its way to the NCAA Tournament four times and to this day, remains the school’s all-time leader in career and single season assists and service aces.
Dynamic Duo
South Carolina’s outside hitters continue to rack up kills and help the offense. Led by Hall and Johnson, the two outside hitters collectively had 28 kills.
For Johnson, this marked her sixth time having double-digit kills in a single game, with her season total reaching 119 kills. As for Hall, she leads the team in kills with 142.
Errors Mounting Up
As a team, the Gamecocks had a total of 34 errors throughout the match. Twenty-four were attacking errors, while 10 were service errors. South Carolina sits at the bottom of the SEC tied with LSU, with 229 errors on the season.
What's Next?
South Carolina will next play against the No. 22 Tennessee Volunteers on Sept. 26 in Knoxville, Tennessee. The match will begin at 6:30 p.m. and will be streamed on the SEC+ Network.