The Ole Miss volleyball program fell, 3-1, to South Carolina on Sunday afternoon at the Gillom Athletics Performance Center.
The Rebels (8-10, 2-5 SEC) came up short against the Gamecocks (9-9, 2-6 SEC) despite a career-high 15 kills from Jaidyn Hartsfield. Bella Bonanno added a career-high 18 digs in the loss.
The Rebels overcame an early 5-3 deficit to take control of the opening set. Hartsfield sparked the Ole Miss offense with back-to-back kills to give the Rebels a 7-6 lead, before a Ryea Jackson kill extended the advantage to 11-7. A powerful swing from Jorda Crook sent Ole Miss into the media timeout ahead 15-10. South Carolina battled back to cut the deficit to 17-15, but Ole Miss held off the Gamecocks’ late push to secure a 25-23 set victory and take a 1-0 lead in the match.
South Carolina came out hot in the second set, jumping out to an early 9-1 lead. The Rebels responded with five consecutive points to trim the deficit, but the Gamecocks maintained control and carried a 15-10 advantage into the media timeout. South Carolina pulled away after the break, closing the set on a back-breaking 10-4 run to secure a 25-14 victory and even the match at a set apiece.
The third set opened with a back-and-forth battle, as kills from Sophie Taylor and Shayla Meyer helped the Rebels build a 10-8 lead. Taylor provided a spark off the bench with four kills and two digs. However, South Carolina responded by tying the set at 11-11 before taking control for the remainder of the frame. The Gamecocks closed the set on a 14-4 run to claim a 25-15 set victory.
The fourth set opened with another back-and-forth battle, as kills from Hartsfield and Shayla Meyer helped Ole Miss build an early 11-9 lead. Much like the third set, the Gamecocks took over from there, going on a furious charge, turning a 15-15 fourth set into a 25-16 victory to secure the match.
The Rebels are back in action on Friday, traveling to face Auburn at 8 p.m. CT. The match will be televised on the SEC Network.