Sept. 2, 2006
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CLEMSON, S.C. – South Carolina’s volleyball team claimed the Big Orange Bash tournament title Saturday afternoon in Clemson, S.C., with a 3-0 (30-20, 30-15, 30-18) victory against Western Carolina. The Gamecocks posted a 4-0 record in Clemson’s tournament, also defeating Clemson 3-2 on Thursday night and Charlotte and Tennessee State by scores of 3-0 and 3-1 on Friday.
USC moved to 7-1 with the win and extended its winning streak to six, while the Catamounts fell to 1-7 on the year.
Following the victory, USC senior setter Iris Santos and sophomore middle blocker Belita Salters were named to the All-Tournament Team. Senior outside hitter Shonda Cole was chosen Most Valuable Player. It was the second week in a row Cole and Santos were named to an all-tourney team, doing so at the TCU Molten/La Quinta Invitational a week ago.
Cole averaged 5.93 kills and 1.71 digs per game while hitting .381 (83-24-155) over the course of the tournament. In Thursday’s match with Clemson, she registered 36 kills, which fell one shy of tying the single-match school record she set earlier in the season at TCU.
Santos had 1.4 kills, 11.2 assists and 2.67 digs per game, while Salters tallied 1.86 kills with a .353 (26-8-51) hitting percentage and 0.86 blocks.
“Iris is solidly leading the team emotionally,” South Carolina head coach Nancy Somera said. “That was something we talked about being the key role of her in the starting setting position. She has kept the other five moving in the right direction each play. Her athleticism allows her to make some really great plays at the net, and she can save a lot of plays and win jousts.
“Shonda did was she’s supposed to do. She has an outstanding supporting cast around her, which was the difference in winning all those matches. There were times last year when people would dump all the responsibility on her shoulders, but everybody is carrying their own weight now and she can play more freely.
“Belita has really emerged as a focused player and she’s very trustworthy,” Somera continued. “Her teammates really rely on her to take care of her position and her responsibilities there. She also brings such a positive energy to the floor. Belita is always kind of a crowd favorite. There’s something about her that makes you want to cheer for her. She rarely ever gets down on herself, and people pick up on it.”
The Gamecocks controlled Saturday’s match with Western Carolina from the first serve. Cole led the team in kills with 16, while classmate Lynae Vanden Hull ripped 11. Santos came close to picking up her second career triple-double with seven kills, 32 assists and 13 digs. Senior defensive specialist Alexcis Thomson reached double digits in the digs category as well with 10.
“Every match is an opportunity to execute a game plan and keep getting better offensively and defensively on your side of the net,” Somera said. “While we hit .473, I was a little more focused on our defense because Western Carolina is a very scrappy defensive team. We had to match their hustle and not let them win hustle points. We out-dug them and worked hard to earn our points.”
USC’s .473 (51-7-93) hitting percentage was the fifth-best single-match tally in school history and the first time it hit .400 or better since connecting on a .408 (49-9-98) clip versus Tennessee on Nov. 8, 2002. The Gamecocks had 44 digs to the Catamounts’ 31 and recorded 20 more kills as well.
South Carolina opens up its home slate Friday playing St. John’s at 10 a.m. in the Volleyball Competition Facility in the first match of the Gamecock Invitational. The Gamecocks face three-time NCAA champion Southern California later in the evening at 8. Play concludes with South Carolina taking on Florida State at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.
