Texas volleyball defeats South Carolina in third straight SEC win – The Daily Texan

The Longhorns dominated their first SEC home game on Wednesday, defeating the South Carolina Gamecocks in three sets and improving their SEC record to 3-0 and their overall record to 8-3.

Texas, which recently moved up to seventh place with two SEC road wins, appeared closer to becoming the No. 1 team champion last season. Only 13 errors were made on 107 total offensive attempts as Texas showed improvement on both sides of the ball.

Texas defeated the Gamecocks and had one of its most impressive offensive performances of the season. Despite some of South Carolina's surges throughout the game, the Longhorns remained steady and delivered a consistent offensive performance throughout the game.

With the resurgence of veteran outside hitter Madisen Skinner, some familiarity returned to the Texas team. Skinner, widely considered one of the best players in the country, has struggled this season to produce similar performances to last year. Nevertheless, Skinner shined for the Longhorns with eleven kills on 16 hits and six digs.

“Tonight was the first night I felt like Madi (Skinner) was Madi again,” head coach Jerritt Elliott said. “Seniors in this program are under a lot of stress and pressure because they want to finish better…She had a really good attitude this week to understand that.”

All told, Texas finished the game with 52 kills, a .364 hitting percentage, 50 assists and three aces, completing a thorough offensive game.

Defensively, junior libero Emma Halter had a day with 10 digs, while sophomore Marianna Singletary finished the night with eight blocks. The Longhorns held the Gamecocks to a .233 offensive percentage. The third set in particular was an example of defensive strength, as Texas held the Gamecocks' offense percentage to .194.

“I think the entire team will continue to improve,” said Singletary, who happens to call South Carolina home. “(This is) definitely a small improvement, but we still have a long season ahead of us and we’re in it for the long haul.”

The Gamecocks are usually led by their best player, graduate student Riley Whitesides. However, Whitesides remained quiet in the game and did not lead in any game category.

Texas won its fifth straight game, its longest streak of the season. They are now 3-0 in conference play and show no signs of slowing down. With a slow start to the 2023 season and a later rebound, 2024 will look familiar. If time proves stable, Texas will soon fight its way back to the national championship game and another trophy.

Texas will travel to Gainesville to take on the Florida Gators in the third SEC road game of the season. The game will take place on October 6th at 12pm on ESPN.