Angermiller continues impressive freshman season
After the South Carolina volleyball team knocked off Texas A&M, coach Scott Swanson gathered his girls in the team room. He told them how proud he was that they kept their composure and confidence, especially after dropping a five-game thriller to Arkansas two days prior.
In Swanson’s head, he was already thinking about the next match.
“We’re immediately thinking of the next one,” Swanson said. “Unfortunately, wins don’t last in your mind as long as losses; I’m still mad about the Arkansas loss. So, it wasn’t long-lived, at least not for the coaches.”
Another weekend home stand awaits Swanson and the Gamecocks (10-6, 2-2 SEC), as matchups with top-tier SEC teams Georgia (13-3, 3-1 SEC) and No. 19 Kentucky (12-3, 4-0) loom on South Carolina’s schedule.
The Gamecocks will face Georgia first Friday at 7 p.m. The Bulldogs come to Columbia with a single blemish on their conference record, a 3-0 sweep they dropped to Texas A&M. In its last match, Georgia beat Ole Miss 3-2 as senior outside hitter Brittany Northcutt notched her 1,000th career kill.
Northcutt is similar to the Gamecocks’ own Juliette Thévenin, who plays the same position. Both Thévenin and Northcutt are 6’2” and both bring experience to the table as seniors. Thévenin’s next kill will be number 1,418 of her career at South Carolina.
The Bulldogs’ similarities to South Carolina do not stop there, according to Swanson.
“Georgia, statistically and personnel-wise, are very much like us,” he said. “I think that it’s always going to come down to who can serve and pass better. We’re hoping that, on our own floor, we’re going to have that edge. From what I’ve seen on video, we can definitely beat Georgia if we play well. They can beat us if they play well.”
Kentucky will take on South Carolina Sunday at 1:30 p.m., the second game of a three-game SEC road trip for the Wildcats.
The Wildcats will be a real test for South Carolina as they have won their last seven matches in a row, four of them coming against SEC opponents. Kentucky has lost a total of three games through that seven-match stretch, and as a whole the Wildcats have won 19 of their last 20 matches.
“Kentucky is for sure in the top three in the conference,” Swanson said. “They’re very good. They’re very veteran. But I think we thought the same thing about A&M. I feel really good about how we’re going to fight on our home court. I think these kids are starting to believe that no matter who we play, if we give it our best shot we’re going to get respect.”
Quietly putting together a solid season is freshman Jacqy Angermiller. The Dallas product registered 17 kills over the weekend along with six blocks. Angermiller is currently third on the team in total blocks with 42 on the season.
Angermiller acknowledges that the Gamecocks are young, but the team shows a lot of promise.
“I know our team is very young,” Angermiller said. “But at the same time, all of us have the skills to show the SEC that we are here and this is South Carolina. We’re here to make some disappointments.”