Gamecocks open season with undefeated 3-0 record after tournament
The South Carolina volleyball team started off its season with a bang over the weekend, winning all three of its matches on the way to a Gamecock Invitational title.
South Carolina kicked off the tourney Friday by defeating Gardner-Webb in decisive fashion by taking all three games, with scores of 25-15, 25-19, and 25-21, respectively.
In her debut for the Gamecocks, freshman Taylr McNeil led the charge with an astonishing 16 kills while hitting .419. Junior Sarah Blomgren helped the cause with six kills and five block assists, and sophomore KoKo Atoa-Williams did her part with an additional six kills, cruising to the 25-15 win in the first match.
After the match, head coach Scott Swanson was extremely pleased with his team’s performance.
“I thought we scrapped and played really hard. In that first set, I thought we started off passing well and were attacking at a high level. We kind of had them on them on the run,” Swanson said. “I thought our team played extremely well. We had some really good performances.”
On Saturday, the Gamecocks had a doubleheader, with the first contest coming against Jacksonville, a match that they won by scores of, 25-23, 25-14, 20-25, and 25-17.
Atoa-Williams had another strong performance by obtaining her first double-double, leading the team with 12 kills. Junior Darian Dozier led the charge on defense with 11 blocks, including three block solos. The team continued to pass with one another very well, with Junior Kellie McNeil leading the team with 21 assists. Although the team may have won, Swanson alluded to aspects of his team’s game that needed improvement.
“I thought they played really well. We served a little bit easy, and they passed great. They came after us and really pushed us,” Swanson said. “I didn’t think we played very well all the way throughout the match. I thought we were tentative at times. We could have served tougher and played better defense.”
The team closed out the weekend by defeating Georgia Tech with scores of 25-22, 25-13, 18-25, and 25-22 to win its fourth-consecutive Gamecock Invitational.
Atoa-Williams was named Tournament MVP after another stellar showing, setting her career high in kills with 18 and hitting .306 for the contest. Senior Mikaela Christiaansen earned a spot with Atoa-Williams on the All-Tournament team after getting 17 digs and 5 assists.
Other big contributions came from Blomgren with 13 kills, Taylr McNeil with nine kills, Kellie McNeil with seven kills and Junior Elizabeth Johnbull who served as the defensive stopper with seven blocks.
Although the season is young, Swanson allowed himself to give his team praise after its season-opening tournament victory.
“I think we were on a bit of a roller coaster for a while. It may have been first weekend jitters or just getting used to each other, but when things mattered we played at a really high level,” he said. “We stepped it up every match as the competition got tougher, especially against (Georgia Tech). We started blocking balls and playing better defense and our passing improved. I felt like we improved, and that’s what every coach wants.”