Dariana Hollingsworth-Santana transitioned back to the 10-foot line.
The senior right hitter screamed her move for redshirt junior setter Andrea Fuentes as she lined up and hit the ball alongside South Carolina to score. She recorded six deaths in the second set, and this helped push the Tigers to a 25-20 victory.
However, Missouri did not endure the Gamecocks’ attack for much longer. They were more resilient and defeated the Tigers in four sets on Saturday at the Carolina Volleyball Center.
After sweeping South Carolina on Friday afternoon, Missouri confidently entered the game on Saturday. External hitter Kylie Deberg alternated her offensive approach between cross-lows and short, high tips, enough to keep the Gamecocks defending on tiptoe.
The veteran’s attack persisted across the court as she hit a ball from the middle position, right on the South Carolina side line. When she turned to the front row, she excelled at finding holes between Gamecocks defenders.
Deberg racked up 22 deaths to keep Missouri in the game. External hitter Anna Dixon reported 16 deaths.
Missouri’s only victory in the second set had its highest death rate of 0.563% in the match.
Libero Lauren Bowers, from South Carolina, quickly noticed Deberg and Dixon’s tendencies and hit several balls, which kept the Gamecocks close throughout the match.
Missouri made several mistakes while South Carolina’s relentless attack aggravated the Tigers.
With a possession of the ball, Dixon tried to attack a ball, but South Carolina hitter McKenzie Moorman raised his hands against Dixon’s strike and the ball bounced back to the Missouri side. That point helped Gamecocks win their first set 30-28.
The Tigers’ defeat in the four sets came in part because they failed to minimize errors on their side of the net. Gamecocks used Tigers’ 16 service errors to find other areas where they underperformed.
South Carolina central blocker Ellie Ruprich discovered the gap between the Tiger block early in the third set and threw the ball into the deep corner. Libero Emily Brown failed to put a touch on the ball, and Gamecocks continually aimed at the freshman to make several runs, which helped them close the third set by 25-23.
“We had some tough times and struggled to respond when South Carolina played well,” said Missouri coach Joshua Taylor.
The Tigers face a well-formed No. 10 Florida team next weekend and will need to find ways to minimize their team’s mistakes in order to make a competitive race by the end of the season.
Edited by Kyle Pinnell | [email protected]