GC volleyball tipped off conference play with a dominant 3-0 sweep over USC Aiken Tuesday, Sept. 13. After a questionable 4-7 start to the season, the Bobcats put the PBC on high alert with this statement win.

Set 1 was a tight, hard-fought battle where neither team was able to secure a very comfortable lead. The Pacers were able to tally more kills during the game, but committed several more errors than the Bobcats. The Bobcats were able to take the first set 25-21.

The second set was just as close as the first with neither team being able to pull away. Both teams put up a similar amount of kills with very few errors coming from either side. The Bobcats came out on top with an identical score of 25-21.

Set 3 was when the Bobcats displayed their dominance as they held a comfortable lead through the whole set. The Bobcats tallied 13 kills, while the Pacers only recorded nine.  Both teams had a similar amount of errors with the Bobcats tallying ten and the Pacers tallying eight. The Bobcats sent the Pacers packing with a final score of 25-18.

The Bobcats were firing on all cylinders, as several players made their mark on the scoring column. 

“Overall we clicked and we haven’t clicked like that yet this season,” said graduate student and outside hitter Rachel Machovec. “We knew the crowd was going to be really big, so we were excited to have everybody here and get our click together.” 

Machovec led the team with nine kills, also tallying eight digs.

Another stand-out performance came from sophomore outside hitter, Ally Hall, totaling six kills. Her performance put her up to 444 kills at GC, which ties her with Maggie Roper (2016) for ninth most in school history.

The spread attack was a key part of the Bobcats’ victory, as eight different players recorded at least one kill. 

“We were keeping them on their toes because they didn’t know where the ball was going,” said head coach Gretchen Krumdieck. 

The Bobcat defense also showed out recording 11.5 blocks and 52 digs compared to USC Aiken’s three blocks and 43 digs. 

“We kept the ball off the floor,”  Krumdieck said. “Our defense was really good, 52 digs is a lot.”

Freshman defensive specialist Alanis Bernis led the defensive effort for the Bobcats with a total of 19 digs followed by senior setter Emily Long with ten. 

Playing conference games is very different from non-conference games for the players. 

“It’s like a wakeup call,” Hall said. “When it’s conference time, that’s what matters. Not that the other games didn’t matter, but conference is when you either wake up or you go to sleep, and I think we woke up.”

Conference games are especially important to the veterans of the team. 

“It’s just more of a rivalry. I’ve seen these girls for five years now,” Machovec said.

Consistency will be key for the Bobcats as they move forward in the season. They look to face every team with the ferocity they played with against the Pacers and plan to be a force to be reckoned with this season.