The South Carolina volleyball team picked up a 3-2 win against Coastal Carolina on Wednesday night in Conway, South Carolina.
Quickly after starting the first set, the Gamecocks took the lead against the Chants, getting five kills and taking a 6-3, with Coastal Carolina fighting to keep up with South Carolina.
The Gamecocks continued a strong first set with junior outside hitter Nia Hall leading the team and finishing the second half with four kills and two service aces, helping the Gamecocks secure the first set 25-15.
In the second set, Coastal Carolina jumped out to a 5-point lead early on in the set, with South Carolina struggling to keep up. Between service errors and receiving errors, the Chants used three service aces and kills to put the team in the lead.
The Gamecocks started to mount a comeback, going on a 3-point run to cut the lead to 13-10. The Chants fought to keep the lead, continuing to fight back with strong attacks and blocks and would ultimately end up winning the set 25-22 .
South Carolina took charge in the third set, working together to get five kills and two service aces and lead 7-2.
With the Chants struggling with service and attack errors, the Gamecocks kept its momentum, and finished the set with a 25-13 win. Senior outside hitter Alayna Johnson carried the team to a set victory, ending the set with four service aces.
The Chants, in danger of losing the game outright, took an early lead against the Gamecocks in the fourth set with a 3-0 scoring run. The Gamecocks fought back with five kills, however, almost bringing the score to a tie at 9-10.
Despite South Carolina's best attempts, Coastal Carolina won the fourth set 25-20, capitalizing on the Gamecocks' struggle to receive the ball from the Chants.
Coastal Carolina and South Carolina went back and forth throughout the start of the fifth set, tying the game six times. The Chants eventually took an 11-9, causing the Gamecocks to call a late timeout.
The teams continued to battle, keeping the game tied up until the match point. Needing a 2-point lead, South Carolina was able to eventually take home the set with an 18-16 win.
Hall on the attack
Hall finished the game with 50 of the team's 155 attacks and a hit percentage of .120. She and freshman outside hitter Victoria Hill each finished with 17 kills. Hall also ended the game with a .340 kill percentage.
Hall assisted with defense as well, with seven digs and two blocks against the Chants. She scored the highest amount of points for the team, earning 20.5 points.
Serve-receive errors
Throughout the second set, the Gamecocks struggled to properly receive the ball from the Chants, giving up 18 points to Coastal Carolina from service aces and kills.
The Gamecocks faced seven service errors combined during the second and fourth set, letting the Chants easily take charge against them. The team had a total of 10 service errors and seven return errors.
Making the adjustments
South Carolina took a hard fall during the second set, but made the proper attacking and defense adjustments needed to win over the third set.
Losing several points to being unable to properly receive the ball pushed South Carolina in the third set to readjust the team's positions and take the lead. The Gamecocks were able to push back with a stronger offense, making more kills in the third set and not allowing the Chants to score.
What’s next?
The Gamecocks will be playing against the Florida State Seminoles on Saturday at 3 p.m. in Tampa, FL.