Aug. 31, 2006
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CLEMSON, S.C. — Senior outside hitter Shonda Cole blasted 36 kills in helping the South Carolina volleyball team defeat intrastate rival Clemson in a 3-2 (30-25, 22-30, 24-30, 30-25, 15-13) thriller on Thursday night on the Tigers’ home floor in front of 1,823 fans. The Gamecocks improved to 4-1 on the year with the win, while the Tigers dropped to 1-3.
“I can’t tell you how many rivalry matches come down to two points in the fifth game,” USC head coach Nancy Somera said. “It was the never-say-die attitude at its best tonight.”
South Carolina came out with a dominant performance in the first game. The Gamecocks led by as many as eight at 21-13 after a hitting error by the Tigers. Clemson did respond, though, and managed to tie things up at 23 apiece, but South Carolina rallied to take seven of the next nine points.
Clemson came back to win games two and three, but South Carolina managed to crawl back into the match after it was down 11-8 in the fourth game. A kill by Cole closed the margin to two and put one of USC’s best servers, sophomore outside hitter Marija Milosevic, on the back line. Milosevic tallied just nine kills in the match, but her tough jump serve helped the Gamecocks score the next four points to lead 13-11.
The Gamecocks never relinquished the lead in game four, and their defensive pursuit began to wear down Clemson. USC freshman outside hitter Meredith Moorhead provided a big lift for South Carolina as well, tallying four kills in the frame and two aces.
“Meredith steadied some things out for us,” Somera said. “She took some big swings and stabilized our passing. She did a great job of helping us keep our composure.”
In game five, Clemson held an 8-6 lead at the changeover, but USC won the next two points to tie the match up once again. With the Gamecocks clinging to a 12-11 advantage, junior middle blocker Crystal Johnson came up with an unexpected solo block that put South Carolina within two points of winning the match. Carolina eventually won on a service error by the Tigers’ Anna Vallinch.
“I told the team before the match to be disciplined but to play with its instincts,” Somera said. “You never win a big match if you don’t trust your instincts and second-guess yourself. Crystal’s instincts told her to block that ball and it worked and it was a huge block for us.”
As a team, the Gamecocks recorded eight blocks to Clemson’s 10. USC out-hit Clemson .282 (76-30-163) to .267 (67-24-161). South Carolina had 60 digs, which was 11 more than the Tigers.
Cole’s 36 kills fell one shy of tying a school record she set against TCU earlier in the season on Aug. 25. She is the only player in school history to record 30-plus kills multiple times in her career.
Senior defensive specialist Alexcis Thomson tallied 19 digs for South Carolina, 12 of which game between games four and five. Freshman defensive specialist Sarah Cline dug 10 balls, as did senior setter Iris Santos, who also added 62 assists and five kills.
South Carolina continues play in Clemson’s Big Orange Bash tournament Saturday morning when it faces Charlotte at 9. The Gamecocks take on Tennessee State later in the day at 2 p.m.
