The South Carolina volleyball team (7-10) fell to the Mississippi State Bulldogs (14-3) in three sets on Friday, Oct. 17 at the Carolina Volleyball Center at their breast cancer awareness Pink Out game.
The game immediately began to pick up the pace with intense back-and-forth rallying. Junior outside hitter Bernardita Aguilar achieved a kill from the back-row.
Keeping the momentum going for the Bulldogs, freshman outside hitter Lindsey Mangelson scored a kill off of a Gamecock block. South Carolina didn't fall into the pressure, gaining an uncontested kill from junior outside hitter Nia Hall.
The Gamecocks called a timeout, after which they inched their way back up with an overpass kill from Hall, bringing the score to 20-17.
The Bulldogs challenged the Gamecocks at the net, making it tough for the Gamecocks to manage the off-block. Aguilar brought some heat from the right side to give Mississippi State a 22–21 lead, and after a hitting error by Hall, the Bulldogs closed out the first set 25–22.
To start off the second set, sophomore middle Noella Obi set the tone with a kill from the middle followed by another from Mangelson for the Bulldogs.
Senior middle middle Emily Beeker finished off a fierce rally with an attack on the tape. The Gamecocks began to play the ball short, scoring off of a tipped ball from senior outside hitter Alayna Johnson.
Mississippi State continued to dominate on the court after sophomore setter Cayley Hanson scored with a dump from the right side making it 20-13 for the Bulldogs. Mississippi State finished off the second set 25-16, putting them in the lead 2-0.
The third set started off positive for the Gamecocks as junior middle Ava Leahy gave South Carolina a 1-point lead from a kill in the front row along with an over-pass kill from Beeker.
Freshman outside hitter Victoria Hill maintained the lead for South Carolina with a kill from the outside, making it 8-5 for the Gamecocks. However, the Bulldogs responded quickly to the point drop with a kill from Mangelson.
Junior right side Laiya Ebo and Leahy on the right side were able to make a block on the outside. However, Aguilar snapped back with a kill on the pin keeping the Mississippi State lead at three.
Despite being down, Hall put away an outside attack for the Gamecocks. Beeker followed Hall's lead and scored for South Carolina off of a slide, bringing the score to 17-24.
Aguilar tipped the ball over the South Carolina block in a back and forth rally to win the set 25-17 and take home the win for Mississippi State.
Off with the off-block
The Bulldogs controlled the net, making it tough for South Carolina to handle the off-block. "Off-blocking" is the quick defensive adjustment when blockers aren’t squared up with the hitter.
Aguilar fired from the right side to push Mississippi State ahead 22–21, and after a hitting error from Hall, the Bulldogs sealed the first set 25–22.
Sophomore libero Victoria Harris spoke about her thoughts on the team's preformance tonight and the positives to look forward to in the future.
"I think just knowing that we didn't have our best match tonight, and so it starts in practice tomorrow," Harris said, "We just have to be very disciplined in the little things, day in and day out, off the volleyball court and also on the volleyball court."
Big swings from Aguilar
Mississippi State utilized Aguilar not only on the outside, but even more so with her back row attacks. Each set was a consistent battle between the South Carolina front row's block and Aguilar's tricks and angles. Aguilar finished the night with 10 kills along with 24 attacks at the net.
South Carolina head coach Sarah Rumely Noble spoke out about dealing with a style of play like Mississippi States.
"It really changes the flow of the team that they're playing against," Rumely Noble said, "They force you into an out-of-system battle."
Leahy talked more in depth about some things she felt the team could benefit from working on after Friday's match up.
"I think just trusting each other and making sure our block is always in the right spot and just doing our individual jobs and being disciplined," Leahy said, "Being disciplined is really the root of it, and that is something that we're definitely going to continue to work on."
South Carolina's Pink Out Support
Aside from the loss, the support from the Gamecock community for Friday's breast cancer awareness Pink Out game was unmatched. Fans in the stands wore pink t-shirts, waved pink rally towels and accessorized with pink ribbon pins supplied by South Carolina Greek Life organization Zeta Tau Alpha.
Rumely Noble spoke on her appreciation and admiration for the event.
"It was really special. We were able to honor one of the moms of one of our players, Cathy Davis, who is a breast cancer survivor," Rumely Noble said, "It's always awesome when you have someone near and dear to your heart that you can honor."
What's next?
The Gamecocks take on the Alabama Crimson Tide (9-7) Sunday, Oct. 19 at 1 p.m. at home and will be streamed on the SEC+ network.