Mizzou’s Brynn Carlson, left, blocks South Carolina’s Ellie Ruprich on Thursday, Sept. 30, 2021 at Hearnes Center in Columbia.
Missouri volleyball hosted its SEC home-opener Thursday night with a match against the South Carolina Gamecocks.
South Carolina cruised to a 25-12, 25-17, 25-19 sweep as freshman outside hitter Lauren McCutcheon and graduate outside hitter Kyla Manning produced a combined 19 kills. Meanwhile, Missouri failed to establish a strong attack in any set and finished the game with a disappointing .129 hitting percentage.
The Tigers struggled to establish momentum and totalled 18 attack errors, 6 service errors and 2 block errors throughout the match. These mistakes limited their offensive ability and gave the Gamecocks opportunities to build insurmountable leads.
Junior outside hitter Anna Dixon and graduate outside hitter Brynn Carlson paced Missouri with 8 kills apiece, while freshman outside hitter Kaylee Cox added 7 kills and an ace for the Tigers — but the rest of the team failed to find offensive consistency. Even as Dixon led the way, she committed 8 attack errors, which magnified Missouri’s struggles as a team.
In the first set, South Carolina jumped out to a strong 9-4 start behind 2 kills and 2 aces from McCutcheon. With the freshman’s impressive start and 11 Missouri errors, the Gamecocks held the Tigers at bay and didn’t allow them to come within five points the rest of the way.
Missouri rebounded with a quick 6-3 start in the second set, as Dixon tallied 2 early kills and South Carolina committed 2 errors of its own. The lead didn’t hold for long, as they rallied for a 17-7 stretch, which proved unconquerable for the Tigers.
The third set displayed Missouri’s strongest gameplay of the evening, with a .207 hitting percentage and 11 team kills, but a 10-4 start propelled the Gamecocks to another lead they would not surrender. South Carolina mustered an unfavorable .171 hitting percentage and committed 9 errors, but Missouri could not overcome the early deficit to lose in three straight sets.
Missouri suffered its third consecutive loss and eighth loss in nine matches with the defeat, which dropped them to 3-12 (0-2 SEC), while South Carolina improved to 10-3 (2-1 SEC). The two teams will face each other again Friday at 7 p.m., which will be featured on the SEC Network.
Edited by Mason Arneson | marneson@themaneater.com