Sept. 5, 2008
KINGSTON, R.I. – Junior outside hitter Ivana Kujundzic tallied match-highs in both kills and digs as South Carolina came back from down, 2-1, to capture a five-set thriller from Rhode Island, 25-18, 22-25, 23-25, 25-18, 15-10, on Friday night at Keaney Gymnasium. The victory moves the Gamecocks to 4-1 on the campaign, while the Rams fall to 3-3.
Kujundzic had 20 kills and 18 digs in the big victory, and she was helped by redshirt senior middle blocker Belita Salters, who added 17 kills on a .536 hitting percentage. That mark is the fourth best in a five-set match in Gamecock history, just behind her .543 level from last weekend. Sophomore middle blocker Megan Laughlin had 15 kills, while sophomore outside hitter Annie Thomas added 12. Junior libero Sarah Cline had 17 digs in three sets, while senior Dinelia Concepcion had 12. Sophomore Hannah Lawing added 11 digs, while senior Petra Lorenzi had 10. Junior setter Bridget Denson-Dorman just missed a double-double with 46 sets and nine digs. For the Rams, both Caitlyn Welsh (13 kills, 14 digs) and Stacey Yohannes (12 kills, 12 digs) had double-doubles.
“We found a way to win, and that’s all that matters,” head coach Ben Somera said. “Rhode Island played with a lot of energy, and that brought out the best of us at times and the worst of us at times. When it came to those crucial moments when we needed to compete, we were able to refocus and put both set four and five away. It’s always a good win when you take the fifth set on the road.”
South Carolina got its initial lead in the first set at 7-5 after a solo block by Thomas and a pair of kills by Laughlin. That lead grew to 16-11 after three kills in four points by Thomas. Salters got a trio of kills to move the Gamecocks’ advantage to 22-15. A blocking error by the Rams gave South Carolina the set, 25-18. The Gamecocks had 18 kills and hit .326 as a team in the frame. Laughlin led the squad with six kills, while Thomas and Salters both had four along with a block. Concepcion had eight of the squad’s 24 digs in the frame.
After falling behind early thanks to two service errors, the Gamecocks fought back to tie at 7-7, 8-8 and 10-10 before finally taking a lead at 14-13. A guided tip by Kujundzic gave the Garnet and Black a three-point advantage at 19-16, but Rhode Island answered immediately, getting back within one. A Ram service error and a spike by Salters ran the lead back out to three. After trading sideouts, the Rams went on a six-point run to close out the set, 25-22. Kayla Wilson did most of the damage, getting all three of her set two kills in the sequence. Kayla Newberg also had two, including the final blow. Yohannes tallied five kills in the frame.
The Gamecocks got an early 7-3 lead in the third set, partly thanks to Salters’ two early kills. URI tied it up at 11 after kills by Newberg and Welsh, but a Thomas smash put South Carolina back up by two, 14-12. The Rams would take back the lead at 16-15 after Lauren McIntosh spiked a Carolina overpass. The Gamecocks responded with five-consecutive points, including two straight from Laughlin, which forced Rhode Island to use a timeout. Three-straight points by the Rams caused the Gamecocks to use a timeout at 20-19, but that wouldn’t stop URI from tying up the match at 20. Two kills from Kujundzic put South Carolina up by two, 22-20 but a Welsh kill and a Lytle dump after the teams swapped sideouts tied it up at 23-23. Two South Carolina errors ended the set in Rhode Island’s favor, 25-23. Two service aces for the Rams seem to have been the difference, as the Carolina Gamecocks actually out-hit the Rams, .293-.268.
At 7-6 for South Carolina in the fourth set, the Gamecocks got 10 of the next 13 points to take a 17-9 lead. Rhode Island would get within four at 17-13 after a Ram block and two attack errors by the Garnet and again at 22-18, but URI would get no closer. A Kujundzic kill down the line ended the frame, 25-18. The Carolina Gamecocks held Rhode Island to eight kills in the fourth. Cline had six digs and an ace in the frame to lead the Gamecocks.
A Lawing ace started the Gamecocks off right in set five, eventually getting a 5-0 advantage. A pair of setting errors stretched the Garnet’s lead to 9-3. A pair of Kujundzic kills, including one from the back row, moved Carolina ahead, 11-4. Lytle and Welsh would single-handedly keep the Rams alive, getting four kills in five points to stave off elimination. But a Ram attack error ended the set at 15-10 and the match in favor of the Gamecocks.
South Carolina closes out its trip to New England with a 12 noon match against Stony Brook.
