COLUMBIA, SC – At a time of 14 years in formation, South Carolina volleyball defeated Florida No. 4 on Thursday night, 3-2, breaking a streak of 23 games lost to the Gators. Two natives from the state of Palmetto led the Gamecocks to victory, with freshman Riley Whitesides leading the team with 23 deaths and Kaely Ann Thompson making her veteran night memorable with 31 assists and seven digs. Appropriately, the pair agreed to the victory point in the fifth set.
Gamecocks now ended the fall schedule, ending it with a 5-3 record. The Gators entered the game without losing a single set in the first five games and now drop to 5-1.
“Our message throughout the week and even after last night was that when we control our side, we are a very good team. Yesterday we made stretches, but not enough,” said coach Tom Mendoza. “Actually, I thought Florida’s set one was very good, their hit percentage was good, they were moving away, it was a really high level set. Florida was able to keep that level high and we fell a little bit next two sets, but I love the way we responded in the fourth set, just keeping the pressure on Florida. That’s how you beat any team, but especially how you beat good teams. “
SCORE: statistics, results from all over the country
SET ONE: The Gamecocks were determined to find a faster start than they did in Wednesday night’s defeat, and were able to boost their confidence with a 25-21 victory in an early set that was hotly contested. In all, there were 16 draws and five changes in leadership, but South Carolina gave up an 18 draw for the initial advantage. The deaths of Kyla Manning and Whitesides broke the tie and marked a 4-1 streak of 18-18, and Whitesides’ sixth and seventh deaths on the set closed the door on Florida’s return opportunities. Both offenses reached 0.350 in the set, but an impressive 80 percent sideout for Gamecocks was the key, as the Gators failed to get the races they needed.
SET TWO: The visitors responded quickly in the intermediate sets, however, starting with a 25-17 margin in the second set, which equaled the match. Manning and Whitesides were responsible for eight of the team’s total of 12 deaths on the set, but Florida surpassed the Gamecocks by 0.414 to 0.100 and scored 10 of the set’s 14 end points.
SET THREE: South Carolina held out early in set three, with Ellie Ruprich registering three starting blocks that built a 6-2 lead and forced Florida into a quick timeout. Out of range, the Gator attack clicked and ended the set with 16 deaths and just three more attack errors after falling victim to Ruprich’s quick start on the net. After retaking the lead, Florida saw the Gamecocks threaten only once on the straight, when Ruprich’s death reduced Carolina’s deficit to 21-20, but the visitors closed for a 25-21 final and a 2- 1 on departure.
SET FOUR: Relentless, Ruprich played an even bigger role in the network in the fourth critical set. The freshman had a hand in four of the team’s six total blocks and South Carolina rolled for an explosion of 25-13 that forced a decisive fifth set. The Gators were responsible for only nine deaths and made eight attack errors on Wednesday, while the combination of Manning and McKenzie Moorman alone totaled 10 deaths in South Carolina.
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SET FIVE: It looked like Florida had corrected the ship in the final set, with the Gators building a 9-5 lead in a game from first to 15 points. Mikayla Robinson emerged as the first x factor, converting four deaths into just six swings to help South Carolina recover and Whitesides took over from there. Behind Thompson’s service, the Gamecocks scored the final five points of the game with no answer to the 15-12 clincher. Whitesides was responsible for all five of those points in the deaths, with the final attack bouncing off the ribbon and falling in front of the Florida blockers to end the game.
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Kaely Ann Thompson senior on winning the last match of her career
“It’s a wave of emotions. I can’t describe it, I can’t do anything but thank my team for giving me this opportunity … Honestly, when I get into that there are always those nervous emotions, like ‘Oh, this is it for my career’ , but you know in my head, it was like, “yes, that’s it”. There is nothing else to do but play my best volleyball I have ever played in my life and it was so much fun. My head is still spinning. “