Gamecock Volleyball Splits Matches in Richmond, Va.

Sept. 1, 2007

RICHMOND, Va. — The South Carolina volleyball team finished its weekend in Richmond, Va., at the Third Degree Sportswear Invitational on Saturday with a 2-1 record. The Gamecocks were 3-2 (30-26, 31-33, 28-30, 30-21, 11-15) losers to Maryland in their first match but recovered to beat George Washington 3-0 (30-20, 31-29, 30-20) and improve to 4-2 this season.

Five Gamecocks reached double figures in kills in the five-game loss to Maryland, with Megan Laughlin leading at 16. Dani Bedore, Ivana Kujundzic and Belita Salters all had 15, and it was a career-high for each player. Hannah Lawing had 11 to go along with 17 digs for her second straight double-double. Jordan Bradosky recorded her second double-double in a row as well with 39 assists and 14 digs. Sarah Cline posted a career-high 26 digs to beat her previous best by eight.

Beth Gillming led UM with a match-high 18 kills while contributing 16 digs. Katie Usher also reached double digits in kills with 10. Setter Hayley Hanson had a double-double with 47 assists and 10 digs, while Maggie Schmelzle and Bethany Springer both had 16 digs. Mary Beth Brown and Jade Brown had 11 (3-8) and 10 (4-6) blocks that helped the Terrapins hold a 16-12 edge in the category.

Statistically, South Carolina edged Maryland in most areas including hitting percentage with the Gamecocks scoring at a .179 (82-42-223) clip compared to UM’s .152 (62-32-198). The Gamecocks led in digs 84-79 as well.

Meredith Moorhead and Kujundzic each had a dozen kills to lead the Gamecocks over the Colonials of George Washington. Laughlin had nine and Bedore added eight. Dinelia Concepcion tallied a match-high 19 digs, and Annie Thomas reached double figures as well with 11.

Janine Brown of GW led all attackers with 14 kills but took 48 swings doing so. She posted a double-double as well with 16 digs. Jess Buche reached double digits in assists and digs with 28 and 10, respectively.

Hitting errors played a large role in the Colonials’ undoing, as they committed 25 while getting just 30 kills. The Gamecocks had 54 kills and recorded a .222 (54-22-144) hitting percentage compared to George Washington’s .041 (30-25-122) figure.

The Gamecocks return to action hosting the Nike Gamecock Invitational over Sept. 7-8. Teams in the tournament include Appalachian State, Rice and Troy. South Carolina first faces Rice at 10 a.m. Friday and then Troy at 7:30 p.m. the same day. The event concludes with Carolina taking on ASU at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.