Sept. 27, 2006
Game Book in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
ATHENS, Ga. — South Carolina volleyball coach Nancy Somera earned her 100th career victory Wednesday evening, as the Gamecocks blanked the Georgia Bulldogs 3-0 (30-22, 30-28, 30-16) in Athens, Ga. USC ran its record to 10-6 and 3-2 in the SEC while snapping a six-match losing streak to Georgia. The Bulldogs dropped to 4-11 and 0-5 in the league.
South Carolina trailed in the early portion of game one but managed to grab its first lead at 8-7 following a hitting error by the Bulldogs. After senior outside hitter Shonda Cole hit her third kill of the frame, the Gamecocks extended their advantage to six, 15-9, after three consecutive blocks, two of which involved Cole and freshman middle blocker Ivana Kujundzic. USC ran the margin to as many as 11 at 23-12 after a kill by senior setter Iris Santos, and eventually won the stanza following a Georgia service miscue.
USC was up 7-5 in the second game after a kill by sophomore outside hitter Marija Milosevic, but Georgia countered with an 8-1 run to lead by five. The Bulldogs appeared to be in control with a four-point lead, 26-22, after a pair of kills, but Carolina bounced back to claim eight of the final 10 rallies. Milosevic provided the Gamecocks with three kills during the stretch, including the game winner, and finished with eight in the frame.
Up 6-4 in game three, South Carolina ripped off eight kills in a row from four different players. Kujundzic accounted for three of them, and senior outside hitter Lynae Vanden Hull blasted four kills. The Gamecocks’ advantage eventually swelled to 14 when Milosevic and junior middle blocker Crystal Johnson combined for a block to make the score 23-9. USC was able to close out the game in just under 20 minutes and hit a stellar .515 (20-3-33).
“We had a nice comeback in game two, and we recognized that we weren’t really playing our game in the first and second games,” Somera said. “We decided after the break to get out there and pull ourselves up to the standards of execution that we practice every day. In game three, we finally got some transition kills.”
Cole paced the Gamecocks with 18 kills on 40 attempts and hit .400 thanks to just six errors. Milosevic reached double figures in kills for the seventh time in 2006 with 14 and she hit .407 (14-3-27). Kujundzic tallied a career high with eight kills and she tied her career best with six blocks. Santos had 39 assists, five kills and seven digs.
“Ivana just keeps getting better, and we’re trying to get her the gall a little more,” Somera said. “For us to improve, we need to find more players who can put the ball away.”
Carolina finished the match with a .393 hitting percentage (55-13-107), while Georgia recorded a .194 figure (37-16-108). It was South Carolina’s second-highest hitting percentage this season. The Gamecocks out-dug the Bulldogs 43-33 and had eight blocks to Georgia’s five.
The Gamecocks return to action Sunday hosting the Alabama Crimson Tide at 1:30 p.m. in the Volleyball Competition Facility, located at the corner of Blossom and Assembly Streets.
