South Carolina Upsets No. 21 Missouri At Home

  0 volleymob | November 15th, 2016 | College - Women's Indoor, News, SEC

Match Stats

  • South Carolina def. #21 Missouri 3-1, (25-20, 23-25, 26-24, 25-23)
  • South Carolina improves to 18-8, 6-8 SEC, while Missouri falls to 21-5, 12-2 SEC
  • Hosted by South Carolina

Press Release

Courtesy of South Carolina Athletics

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina volleyball team threw a spur-sized monkey wrench into the SEC standings Sunday evening, as the Gamecocks stunned conference leader Missouri in four sets, 25-20, 23-25, 26-24, 25-23. The Tigers came into the match ranked 21st nationally, but the Gamecocks used 17 kills from Mikayla Shields and a double-double from Koko Atoa-Williams to pull off the upset. It was the program’s first win over a top-25 team since Sept. of 2006.

“In my six years, this is the biggest win we’ve had as a program,” head coach Scott Swanson said after the match. “We told the kids in the pregame talk that we were going to upset Missouri tonight, and they believed it. They came out and they worked and they fought and did everything they could. We executed really really well, and a lot of team effort… this is a signature win for us, it’s huge.”

1st Set: The Gamecocks (18-8, 6-8 SEC) came out on the hunt early, using an 8-2 run to claim a 12-7 lead on the Tigers (21-5, 12-2 SEC). That run, which featured kills from Shields, Dessaa Legros and Aubrey Ezell, proved to be the deciding factor, as Missouri would get no closer than two points for the rest of the game. South Carolina out-hit its opposition .360 to .118, and behind five kills from Legros, it earned some confidence early with the 25-20 win.

2nd Set: The Tigers were able to send the match to halftime tied 1-1 after milking a big run to start the set. South Carolina fell behind 7-0 from the jump, but showed its resolve with a big comeback late in the 25-23 loss. Missouri held a 15-12 lead at the mid-way point of the game, and appeared to pull away for good at 19-14 before allowing another run for the Gamecocks. They would fight all the way back to 24-23, but an error at the net gave Missouri the win heading into the break. The Tigers used four aces to make the difference in a set where Carolina out-blocked and out-hit them.

3rd Set: The crucial third set was a grinder for the Gamecocks, as they weathered what would be Missouri’s best offensive set of the match (hitting .394). A pair of early blocks gave South Carolina the 5-1 lead, but the Tigers beat them to 15 and held a one-point advantage at the mid-way point. All told, nine ties came from the set, and while the Gamecocks managed to stay just a point ahead through the trading of sideouts, but found some wiggle room at 25-24 and Mikayla Shields’ fourth kill of the game clinched the 2-1 lead.

4th Set: Missouri looked ready to make it a five-set affair, using a 7-1 run early in the fourth to take the 13-10 lead on Carolina. That would grow to 17-13 before the Gamecocks regrouped with a timeout. The home team got back to within one, 19-18, before a smaller 3-0 burst behind Melanie Crow’s service had the Tigers sitting at 22-18. The trio of Shields, Legros and Atoa-Williams would not relent, and the Gamecocks scored seven of the next eight points to pull out the upset. Of those seven points, Legros accounted for three (two kills, one block) Shields slammed home her seventh kill of the set and Atoa-Williams set off the fireworks with her 10th kill of the night to seal the 25-23 comeback win, taking the match.

STAT OF THE MATCH

Despite giving up more kills to the Tigers, the Gamecocks committed 11 fewer attack errors to take a match that was decided by a combined 11 points. 12 blocks for South Carolina are the most in a single match since Oct. 2 against Kentucky. All told, the Tigers committed 30 unforced errors (17 attack, eight on service, two on serve receive and three on blocking errors).

NOTABLE

  • The last win over a ranked opponent came on Sept. 17, 2006, when current assistant coach Shonda Coletalled 35 kills over four sets to beat #6 Florida.
  • This is South Carolina’s second win ever against Missouri, the last coming at home in 2014.
  • Koko Atoa-Williams recorded her third double-double of the season, giving her 16 for her career. She now ranks 21st in school history for double-doubles, and her 18 digs Sunday night are the most since her career high of 27 against Tennessee in 2014.
  • Mikayla Shields has flourished in the team’s 5-1 offense, showing off her ability as a passer and hitter. The freshman put together her third double-double over the last five matches and had a season-best 14 digs Sunday.
  • Missouri hit .367 as a team in the first meeting between the two this season, but the Tigers were limited to just .178 on Sunday.
  • South Carolina was able to slow down a deep Mizzou offense thanks to 12 blocks. Four different players had three or more blocks, led by Claire Edwards’ four.
  • The team’s 18 wins are now tied for the most under sixth-year coach Scott Swanson and are tied for the most by any team since 2008.

QUOTABLE: SENIOR KOKO ATOA-WILLIAMS

What the win means for the team
“It just shows how well our team meshes together, and how much fight we have. To go up against such a big team, the number one team in our conference, for us to pull together and come out in four really means a lot. It was a great night for the seniors and a great team effort as well.”

UP NEXT

The Gamecocks square off against the Heart of Dixie in the penultimate weekend of the 2016 season. Fans should circle Nov. 18 on the calendar, as Alabama comes to the Carolina Volleyball Center on Senior Night for the Gamecocks. First serve against the Crimson Tide is scheduled 7 p.m. with a post-match ceremony planned for Carolina’s five seniors. Closing the weekend will be a Sunday road trip to Auburn that begins at 2:30 p.m. ET.

Press Release

Courtesy of Missouri Athletics

COLUMBIA, S.C. – No. 21 Mizzou Volleyball (21-5, 12-2 SEC) saw its brief three-match winning streak come to an end on Sunday, as it fell 3-1 (20-25, 25-23, 24-26, 23-25) at South Carolina. The Tigers saw four individuals excel on offense with double-digit kills, but the host Gamecocks played strong at the net all match long, keying their upset.

South Carolina used an efficient hitting attack and tough serving to take the opening set, 25-20. Mizzou suffered nine attack errors in the first set, while the Gamecocks tallied 12 kills on .360 hitting. Sophomore Alyssa Munlyn (Suwanee, Ga.) and redshirt junior Kira Larson (Fargo, N.D.) performed well on Mizzou’s offense, posting four kills apiece.

Mizzou answered its tough first set with a blitzing 7-0 run to begin set two. The Tigers wouldn’t relinquish their lead the rest of the set and held on for a slim 25-23 triumph. Senior Carly Kan(Honolulu) was fantastic on offense, posting a set high six kills. Mizzou’s defense also stepped up its play, recording three total blocks and limiting South Carolina to .167 hitting.

The two teams battled back and forth in the third set, before South Carolina won in extra points, 26-24. Mizzou trailed 24-22 late before a kill and dual block evened the set at 24 apiece. The host Gamecocks responded however, taking advantage of a costly Tigers service error. Despite dropping the set, redshirt junior Melanie Crow (Wildwood, Mo.) exploded for a team high seven kills on .500 hitting. Overall, the Tigers produced an impressive 17 kills on .394 hitting.

Mizzou played well in the early portion of the fourth set, building late leads of 18-14 and 22-18. Following a big block by Munlyn and Larson, the Tigers held a 23-21 advantage. South Carolina had an answer however as it used the energy from its home crowd to battle back. The Gamecocks rallied for a match-clinching 4-1 run and completed its victory over the Tigers.

TOP TIGERS

  • Crow: 17 kills on .293 hitting, 13 digs, 8th double-double this year
  • Kan: 14 kills and 16 digs, team-leading 11th double-double this season
  • Munlyn: 10 kills on .400 hitting, 4 total blocks
  • Larson: 12 kills on .296 hitting, 5 digs, 3 total blocks

UP NEXT

Mizzou concludes its 2016 regular season with three of its final four matches at home. Next weekend, the Tigers host Auburn on Friday, Nov. 18, followed by a matchup against No. 6 Florida on Sunday, Nov. 20. First serve at the Hearnes Center is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. (CT) and 3 p.m. (CT), respectively.

Visit MUTigers.com for the latest information on all things Mizzou Volleyball. You can also find the Tigers on social media by liking us on Facebook (Missouri Volleyball) and following us on Twitter and Instagram (@MizzouVB).

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