Sept. 12, 2009
HOUSTON, Texas – Junior outside hitter Hannah Lawing stepped up for the Gamecocks in the absence of Ivana Kujundzic with a career-high 28 kills to lead the Gamecocks to the 3-1 (25-21, 21-25, 25-22, 25-12) win over Harvard to close South Carolina’s time in the Mizuno Invitational II at Tudor Fieldhouse.
Lawing, who made the all-tournament team, also compiled her third double-double of the tourney, adding 14 digs. Seniors Meredith Moorhead and Bridget Denson-Dorman also had double-doubles, with Denson-Dorman getting 46 assists and 12 digs as Moorhead made 14 kills and a career-high 15 digs. Senior Sarah Cline got her third 20+ dig outing of the weekend, making 26 to tie for match-high honors while leading all players with three aces, a career best. She also tied her career mark with seven assists and joined Lawing on the all-tournament team. Anne Carroll Ingersoll posted 13 kills, while Sandra Lynne Fryhofer added 12 for Harvard. The duo tied for team-high honors with four blocks. Christine Wu had 26 digs, with Chelsea Ono Horn and Lily Durwood adding 12 and 13, respectively.
Three early kills from Moorhead, including two from the back row, helped the Gamecocks to a 10-5 lead. The Crimson tied it at 12-12 after a pair of Gamecock errors came around a Taylor Docter kill. South Carolina built the lead again, this time to 19-14, getting a kill and an ace from Lawing during a stretch. Harvard got within one at 20-19 after a Mikaelle Comrie kill, but smashes from Stenlund and Lawing pushed the lead to three and forced the Crimson to use their final timeout. Comrie struck out of the break with a kill off the block, but a Moorhead kill and a Cline ace put the Garnet and Black to set point. A service error delayed the end by a point, as Lawing ended the frame at 25-21 with her kill off the block. The Gamecocks hit .326 in the first set. Moorhead hit .625 while getting her five kills in the first.
The second set saw the Gamecocks coming from behind almost the entire frame. They held just two leads in the set, at 1-0 and 14-13, as Harvard stayed one step ahead of South Carolina. The Gamecocks tied it at 20 after a Laughlin solo block capped a three-point run. But the Crimson responded, forcing a timeout after kills by Fryhofer and Ingersoll. Laughlin tried to stop Harvard’s momentum with a kill, but the Crimson came back with kills from Ingersoll and an Ingersoll and Durwood block to take the second, 25-21. Five Crimson blocks contributed to 11 Gamecock attacking errors.
Harvard posted a seven-point run that included three blocks in the third to take an 11-6 advantage. The Gamecocks chipped away, forcing a Crimson timeout after a three-point skein made it a one-point affair. A Lawing kill tied it at 18-18, but Harvard ended the run and took a two-point lead at 20-18 on consecutive Fryhofer kills. A Lawing kill and a Cline ace tied it again at 20-20, and a Moorhead kill put the squad on top for just the fourth time in the set. The Gamecocks would take four of the final six points to take the 25-22 win, with a Laughlin kill and a Lawing back-row swing ending the set. Nine Lawing kills led South Carolina in the frame, while Cline added eight digs.
The Gamecocks broke out to an 11-6 lead after consecutive Moorhead kills. Harvard got within two at 11-9 after a kill by Comrie, a Katherine Kocurek ace and a Durwood kill off a dig. South Carolina responded, snapping off an eight-point string that made it 21-10. Lawing had three kills in the stretch that included two Gamecock blocks, both involving sophomore Teresa Stenlund. Laughlin ended the match with a kill on the overpass, closing the fourth at 25-12. The Gamecocks hit .577 as a team in the fourth, as Harvard only dug eight balls in the frame.
The Gamecocks won every stat battle except for blocks, including a 17-kill advantage. Freshman Brandi Byers made her first career appearance and added a kill and a dig, while fellow frosh Christina Glover, who debuted in the Wichita State match, added three kills on five swings.
South Carolina opens Southeastern Conference play on the road next weekend, starting with an 8 p.m. EDT match at Arkansas before heading to the Magnolia State to face Mississippi on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. EDT.
