COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Sacred Heart University women's volleyball team gave South Carolina all it could handle in the opening match of the Carolina Classic. In the end, the Gamecocks defeated the Pioneers 3-1 (25-19, 19-25, 26-24, 25-18) on Friday.
Records:
Sacred Heart: 0-1
South Carolina: 1-0
 
Top Performers:
Hunter Riedl (SHU): 11 kills, 10 digs
Reghan Palanchi (SHU) 15 kills, 4 Blocks
Sarah Ciszek (SHU): 32 assists, 6 kills, 9 digs
 
Up Next:
SHU continues the Carolina Classic Friday against Winthrop at 5 p.m.
 
Of Note:
The Pioneers started the match on a 4-0 run and had a 7-3 advantage on a Hunter Riedl kill. Unfortunately, the host worked its back to 12-12 then finished the opening set on a 13-7 run.
 
Once again Sacred Heart had the early lead with an Emma Smallcomb ace and USC error giving the visitors another 7-3 lead. This time, however, the Pioneers didn't falter. The Gamecocks closed within 21-19, but SHU finished on a 4-0 run that featured a pair of blocks.
 
Sacred Heart led for most of the third set and had a 24-23 lead on a Riedl ace. However, SHU committed a pair of errors and USC came through with a kill to take the set.
 
A Reghan Palanchi kill and ensuing USC error tied the fourth set at 9-9 and forced USC to call a timeout. South Carolina came out of the timeout with a 4-2 run that was all the advantage it needed to finish off the match.
 
SHU limited USC to a .148 hitting percentage in winning the second set, but the Gamecocks came back to hit .386 in the last two sets on their way to a .311-to-.191 advantage.
 
The Pioneers had the advantage in digs (47-42) to go along with eight aces, and only four errors, while South Carolina committed 15 service errors.
 
Palanchi led the offensive attack with 15 kills, her most since a career-high 20 versus Fairleigh Dickinson on March 26, 2021. Riedl had a career-day with personal bests of 11 kills and 10 digs for her first collegiate double-double.