Oct. 31, 2007
 |
| Final Stats |
COLUMBIA, S.C. – On Halloween night, No. 10 Florida received all the treats in a 3-0 victory over South Carolina, 30-18, 30-9, 30-20, at the Volleyball Competition Facility. The Gators moved to 21-1 on the season and 14-1 in Southeastern Conference play, while the Gamecocks fell to 11-13, 4-11 in league action.
Marcie Hampton led the Gators with a double-double, making 17 kills and 10 digs on the evening. Kisya Killingsworth had a nearly perfect outing, going 12-of-13 on attacks for a .917 hitting percentage and also compiling eight block assists. Kelsey Bowers had 10 kills, while Elyse Cusack tallied 13 digs.
Sophomore libero Sarah Cline had 10 digs for the Gamecocks, while sophomore outside hitter Meredith Moorhead led the squad with five kills. Middle blockers Megan Laughlin and Belita Salters joined Moorhead with three blocks each.
South Carolina held a 7-6 lead in game one after an Ivana Kujundzic ace and a Hannah Lawing kill. The Gators would move ahead, only to see the Gamecocks tie it up at 10-10 after a UF hitting error. Florida would take control from there, first getting three consecutive kills, the latter two from Callie Rivers, to move ahead 13-11. Another three-point run put the Gators on top, 17-13. After trading side outs, the Gators would put together a five-point skein, with bookend kills from Hampton. Florida stretched the lead to 26-15 before the squads swapped points till the end. The Gators captured the frame on a block by Killingsworth and Angie McGinnis.
Florida dominated game two, running off seven consecutive points before the Gamecocks got their first point. The score was 16-2 before Laughlin would get the first Garnet kill of the frame. The freshman would add two more points to Carolina’s side of the board with an ace and a block assist with Moorhead, but the Gators would take the frame, 30-9. Hampton had six kills for the Gators, who had a .536 hitting percentage in the game.
The Gamecocks hung around in game three after falling behind early, 12-6. A four-point streak that included a Salters kill brought Carolina within two. Florida would stretch it out again to 16-12 on a Hampton smash and two kills from Killingsworth. The Garnet and Black continued fighting, getting within three at 18-15 on Gator blocking and ball handling errors. The squads swapped side outs before the Gators went on a three-point run to put some breathing room in the match. Carolina tried to make stands, getting blocks from Salters and Moorhead first and a solo block from Salters later to get within three, 23-20. But the Gators captured the momentum with a Bowers kill. Killingsworth wrapped up the match with three kills on the last four points.
The Gators hit .462 in the match and held the Gamecocks to a .040 percentage. Florida had big advantages in kills, blocks, assists, digs and aces.
The Gamecocks wrap up the four-match homestand on Friday evening against Arkansas. Match start is set for 7 p.m. at the Volleyball Competition Facility.
