Mississippi College Volleyball Falls to USC Aiken in Five Sets

CLINTON, Miss. — Mississippi College dropped a 3-2 decision to USC Aiken on Friday at A.E. Wood Coliseum. The Choctaws took the fourth set 25-21 after overcoming a late deficit but could not complete the comeback in the fifth set.

MC opened the match strong, winning the first set 25-18. The team used early service pressure and late serving from Reese Regner to secure the set, with key kills from Mary Grace Foster and Meg Paparella. The Blue and Gold led most of the way, closing out with three straight points, including a Paparella kill and a Regner ace.

The second set was tightly contested. USC Aiken fought back from a 10-3 deficit to tie the score at 11-11, thanks to a surge led by Rylie Widener’s serve and a Cydney Mitchell block. The Pacers edged the set 25-22, despite late efforts from MC including kills from Foster, Downey, and Green.

Mississippi College rallied in the third set, overcoming an early deficit to narrow the gap to 22-19 before USC Aiken pulled away for a 25-19 victory. The Choctaws responded in the fourth set, winning 25-21 after winning eight of nine rallies in the middle of the set. Key plays included kills from Green, Davey, and Lay, and a late set-winning assist from Fromdahl.

The final set was closely fought, with MC leading 13-11 after a USC Aiken service error. However, the Pacers scored the final four points to win 15-13. The Choctaws took an early 6-4 lead but couldn’t hold on, as USC Aiken responded with timely kills and errors to close out the match.

Meg Paparella led Mississippi College with 16 points, including 11 kills, 12 digs, two aces, and three solo blocks. Samarin Kipple contributed 28 digs and seven assists. Foster added 12 kills on 41 attacks, and Fromdahl finished with 21 assists, nine digs, and a solo block. The Choctaws will host Augusta on Saturday at 2 p.m. in Clinton, Miss.

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