The South Carolina volleyball team returned to winning ways in a three-set victory over the East Carolina Pirates Tuesday night.
The Gamecocks emerged victorious in quick fashion, holding East Carolina to a high of 20 points in the first set, to a low of 9 points in the final two.
Performances from junior setter Sarah Jordan and graduate outside hitter Riley Whitesides helped the Gamecocks take over multiple sets, taking the leaderboards for assists and points, respectively.
The match started with a back-and-forth battle in the first set, being tied 10 times throughout the set, with the lead only exchanging once. The Gamecocks held onto their advantage late in the set, with each time East Carolina coming close to taking the lead, the Gamecocks would pull away.
The Gamecocks held an advantage on offense with a .484 hitting percentage, much higher than the .324 hitting percentage held by the Pirates. South Carolina was also more composed with its service, finishing with zero serving errors to the Pirates' two.
The second set was a much stronger offensive display by the Gamecocks, beginning with an early 6-0 run. The Gamecocks held East Carolina to just 9 points in the set, less than half of what they had in the previous set.
"I think it was right around 16 or 18 (in the first set), we were able to finally get a couple points and then separate," head coach Tom Mendoza said. "Once we made those adjustments, credit to our team, the players continued to make those adjustments through sets two and three."
Late into the second set, South Carolina had another 6-0 lead and capitalized on it after a few back-and-forth points to eventually win the set 9 to 25.
The Gamecocks and Pirates would begin the third set close, but the Gamecocks would put together an 11-1 run built on top of that to close out the match. The final score of the set was same as the second set, 9-25.
Sarah Jordan's masterclass performance
Sarah Jordan led the team with 31 assists, 28 more than the next player. She held over half the team's 43 total assists in the match. Her assists helped the Gamecocks reach the victory, as their teamwork with her looked powerful.
"Because my front row is so aggressive and so good, that any option will score a point," Jordan said. "The decision-making was good, and the hitters just totally destroyed it and took advantage of every opportunity that they got."
Whitesides stands out
Whitesides had an impressive performance tonight, making her way to the top of many different leaderboards. She was the kill leader, the point leader and was second in attack leaders. Other than that, Whitesides was often seen hyping up the team and bringing the energy that the team needed during sets that were close.
"I feel like energy is really big with our team, and I feel like once you get a good kill or a good a dig, momentum is just so big," Whitesides said. "If I can get a kill, I can take pressure off someone else, which I like to try to do."
Whitesides' performance helped the Gamecocks capitalize on offense, most notably through multiple 6-0 runs in the second set.
Hit percentage was key
East Carolina had an overall hit percentage of .158 while the Gamecocks had a hit percentage of .507. This helped the Gamecocks build confidence over the sets, and proved how good their teamwork was this game.
"I think that was the biggest difference," Tom Mendoza said. "Mostly because of our serve, we were able to really put them in some tougher situations."
What's next?
South Carolina will take on its in-state rival Clemson on the road. The game will be on Sept. 20 at 6 p.m.