The South Carolina volleyball team lost a close-fought match 3-2 against the Georgia Bulldogs Wednesday night. The Bulldogs set a program record for blocks in a match during the win with 24 total, giving the team the separation needed to earn the victory.
The two teams played each set competitively and no set was won by more than five points. The first set saw eight different points where the game was tied before South Carolina won 25-23. Georgia took the next two sets 25-20 and 25-23.
In the third and fourth sets, the Gamecocks were down big early in each set. In both sets, the team made runs to claw back into it and contend for the set. The team lost the third set after coming back from down 23-15 but won the fourth set 26-24 after trailing 9-3 early on.
“It’s a situation we don’t want to put ourselves in very often,” head coach Tom Mendoza said. “We just need to respond faster and come out and put pressure on the others.”
Georgia managed to win in five sets and recorded 57 kills on a .113 hit percentage for the match. South Carolina failed to eclipse those numbers, scoring 51 kills on a .061 hit percentage and recorded 40 errors to add to the damage.
“Fifty-one kills in five sets is not going to get the job done and then 40 errors is too many errors,” Mendoza said. “It’s pretty clear on what we need to improve.”
It was a homecoming match for South Carolina’s graduate setter Dalaney Hans. The former Bulldog transferred to South Carolina after spending four seasons in Athens, appearing in 70 matches. She finished Wednesday's match with 23 assists, 10 digs and three aces.
“Dalaney is one of the more consistent people and performers, she had a good match,” Mendoza said. “I know she would’ve loved to come away with a win playing her old team.”
With the loss, the Gamecocks fall to (7-6) on the year and (1-2) in the conference.
Mendoza said he hopes the team performs better in this weekend's matchup against Missouri. The team will return to the Carolina Volleyball Center where it is 6-1 on the season.
“Our block and our defense we know has been a strength this year, but we have goals as far as our kill rates and our error rates and we were well below both of those today,” Mendoza said. “When we hit these numbers …this group is going to be successful.”
South Carolina and Missouri are set to play in a two-game weekend series on Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 4 p.m. Saturday’s game can be streamed on SEC network+ and Sunday’s on the SEC network.