Gamecock Volleyball Sweeps Auburn

South Carolina dominated Auburn to win their home opener 3-0. Photo Credits: South Carolina Athletics

Coming off a split of their season opener against Georgia in Athens, the South Carolina Gamecocks volleyball team wanted to start off their home record with a 1 in the win column. That’s exactly what they did.

In their first home game of the season they showed out for the few but faithful home fans as they swept the Auburn Tigers in three sets by scores of 25-15, 25-16, 25-20.

In the first set, the Gamecocks raced out to an 18-9 lead. The offense looked strong with 14 kills in only 31 total attempts. The team only had five errors in the set, allowing them to finish on a 7-4 run to take a 1-0 lead in the match.

Set two was more of the same from the Gamecock offense. The Gamecock defense also stepped up, holding the Tigers to only 16 points and forcing eight attack errors. A 7-2 run and two impressive kills from Mikayla Robinson and Ellie Ruprich lead to another set won for USC.

In what turned out to be the set’s final match, the Gamecocks came out on fire, which eventually lead to a 19-10 lead and the Tigers’ second timeout of the set. It looked like the Gamecocks were going to cruise to a sweep. The Tigers weren’t so convinced of that.

Out of a timeout, Auburn went on a 10-4 run to cut the lead to 23-20. However, the Gamecock offense was too much to handle. Two straight kills by Kyla Manning sealed the set and match for Carolina.

The senior transfer Manning also lead the team in kills with nine and tacked on a team-high 11 points as well. Reigning SEC Freshman of the Week, Ellie Ruprich, continued her strong start to the season adding on seven kills, nine points and three blocks.

“I really liked our energy and effort and attention to detail as we prepared for Auburn,” South Carolina head coach Tom Mendoza said. “Our challenge was to make them have to earn every point, control our side, stay aggressive and keep the pressure on that side of the court, and I thought out team did a great job of that.

The Gamecocks are now 2-1 this year. They play the winless Tigers again tomorrow at home at 4:30 p.m.