Sept. 23, 2007
UNIVERSITY, Miss. – Behind career-highs in both kills and digs from Caitlin Weiss, Mississippi defeated South Carolina, 30-23, 30-22, 27-30, 30-26, at the Gillom Sports Center on Sunday afternoon. The Rebels moved to 12-3 on the campaign, 2-2 in Southeastern Conference play, while the Gamecocks fall to 7-6, 0-4 in league action.
Sophomore Ivana Kujundzic led the Gamecocks with 15 kills, while junior Belita Salters hit .500 with 14 kills and match-best eight blocks. Sophomore Meredith Moorhead had 11 kills behind a .423 hitting percentage, and junior libero Dinelia Concepcion added 18 digs. Junior setter Petra Lorenzi had a season-high 31 assists.
Caitlin Weiss led the Rebels with a career-high 24 kills and 10 digs and hit an outstanding .575. Katie Kramer had 16 kills, while both Jackie (13) and Emily (11) Jones were in double digits as well. Libero Tara Langley had 24 digs.
Both teams came out hot in game one, with the Rebels hitting .424 in the 30-23 win. South Carolina hit .333 behind a perfect Salters, who had four kills in the frame. The Gamecocks took an early 9-6 advantage after consecutive kills from Salters and Dani Bedore. Mississippi came back, eventually taking the lead at 13-2 on an Emily Jones kill. The Red and Blue stretched the lead to 15-12 and later to 19-15. Two straight points for Carolina brought the Garnet back within two, but the Rebels ran off three straight points to push the advantage to 22-17. Mississippi closed the frame winning five of the final six points, which included two kills from Kramer.
Game two had more stellar hitting by both sides. Ole Miss hit .536 in the 30-22 victory behind five more kills by Weiss, while South Carolina hit .333 again, getting five kills from Kujundzic. The Rebels started out hot, moving to an early 7-2 lead behind two aces from Tara Langley. After UM stretched the lead out to 13-5, the Gamecocks fought back, closing to 13-8 on a Salters spike. USC closed again at 16-11 before Mississippi extended its lead again. A Jackie Jones ace pushed the Rebel advantage out to 23-15. A pair of errors by the Rebels cut their lead down to 23-17, but Ole Miss righted the ship, ending the game with a an Emily Jones kill.
The Gamecocks got five early blocks in game three, including a pair from Salters and Moorhead that put USC up, 4-1. After Mississippi got out to a 19-16 lead, the Gamecocks responded with five straight points, forcing an Ole Miss timeout. Kills by the Rebels’ Kramer and Keefe tied up the match at 22-22. The teams swapped points until a Bedore ace put the Gamecocks a point away from win at 29-27. Another ace from the freshman gave South Carolina the game.
South Carolina ran out to a 10-5, helped out by a kill and an ace by freshman Megan Laughlin. Eventually, Ole Miss came back to take the lead, 23-19. The Gamecocks came back to within two, 23-21, on a Rebel attack error and a kill by Moorhead. However, Jackie Jones stopped the run with her kill. A kill by Rachel Kieckhaefer put the Red and Blue up for good, as the teams swapped points until the end, when Kramer got her final kill of the match.
For the match, the Rebels hit .342, while the Gamecocks came in at .282. The Rebels also had the advantage in blocks, digs, and assists.
South Carolina makes a trip to the Yellowhammer State to start next weekend, as the Gamecocks take on the Alabama Crimson Tide on Friday, Sept. 28 at 7 p.m. CDT in the Coleman Auxiliary Volleyball Extension.
