Mizzou volleyball took on South Carolina at home on Thursday, September 30. The Tigers were looking for their first SEC win of the year, while the Gamecocks looked to improve to 10-3 and gain momentum for SEC play. With two motivated teams, this looked to be a good Thursday night match.  

Mizzou played South Carolina tight in the beginning stages of the first set, but Gamecocks outside hitter Kyla Manning had a strong kill to take an early 3-2 advantage. From there, the Tigers couldn’t get anything going, as they dropped the first set 25-12. Outside hitter Lauren McCutcheon helped lead the Gamecocks with five kills in the first set and an South Carolina had an early one-set advantage on the Tigers. 

The Tigers came out strong in the second set by taking an early 6-4 advantage. Outside hitter Anna Dixon was the shining spot for the Tigers as she had four kills in the second set. However, the Gamecocks battled back, taking a 12-9 lead before a Tigers timeout. The Gamecocks wouldn’t lose that lead and took the second set 25-17 with strong play from outside hitter Kyla Manning and McCutcheon. 

The Gamecocks started the third set by jumping out to a 7-2 lead, but the Tigers wouldn’t go down without a fight. Middle blockers Kayla Burbage and Tristar Strasser helped the Tigers cut into the Gamecocks lead, with the Tigers down by two going into a timeout. The Tigers battled hard this set and were down by one midway through the set, but the Gamecocks started to pull away. Led again by Manning and McCutcheon, the Gamecocks stopped the Tigers’ momentum and picked up the third set 25-19. 

The Gamecocks took this match three sets to none and improved to 10-3 on the year. The Tigers battled hard but fell to 0-2 in the SEC and will look for revenge in their next game against the Gamecocks Friday, October 1, at 7 PM.