The South Carolina volleyball team took the court at the Carolina Volleyball Center for the final time this season when facing Mississippi State Friday night and Alabama Sunday afternoon.
Friday night, the team celebrated senior night with a sweep against Mississippi State. The three Gamecock seniors, Sarah Blomgren, Darian Dozier and Elizabeth Johnbull all performed exceptionally well, combining for 28 of the team’s 39 kills. Blomgren led the team in kills with 14 while Dozier led the team in blocks with four. Dozier’s four blocks give her a career total of 421 blocks, putting her in fourth in the program’s all-time list. Johnbull finished her night recording five kills and seven points.
South Carolina started strong and took a big lead in the first set. The Gamecocks held onto their lead for the entire set and went on a 4-0 closing run to take the first set 25-18.
The Gamecocks continued their dominance into the second set, grabbing an 8-7 lead, and did not look back. They continued to attack and claimed the second set 25-16.
Looking to bounce back, the Bulldogs tried to keep pace early in the third set but were not able to do so. They kept it close for a while, but the Gamecocks went on to take the set 25-19 and the match, 3-0.
South Carolina then hosted Alabama on Sunday for their final home game. Alabama jumped into an early 10-6 lead in the first set, but the Gamecocks fought back to keep it close and tied it at 17 all. A back-and-forth battle kept the set intense, but the Crimson Tide eventually pulled through to get the 27-25 win.
The second set was another close one, with South Carolina taking an early 8-4 lead. Alabama bounced back, tying it at 16 all and going on a roll from there. They went on a 9-4 run to close out the set with a 25-20 win.
Down in the match 2-0, the Gamecocks were looking for a comeback in the third. They pulled ahead in the set 15-10 and continued to attack as they went on to win the third set 25-17.
Aiming to close things out, Alabama took a 13-9 lead in the fourth set. South Carolina would try and fight back but fell short in the end, giving Alabama the 25-20 win and winning the match 3-1. Alabama has now won the past four matchups in this series.
Blomgren led the Gamecocks offense with 14 kills against the Tide. Both she and Jacqy Angermiller tallied 25 points in the loss.
South Carolina finishes the season with a 9-7 home record and is now 12-17 (5-11) on the year.
South Carolina will travel to Arkansas on Wednesday and Missouri on Friday to finish out the 2015 season.