Nov. 9, 2005
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Despite a hard rally late in game three, South Carolina volleyball was unable to earn a victory as the Gamecocks fell to Tennessee 3-0 (17-7, 11-3). USC lost 30-20, 30-22, 32-30 and fell to 10-14 and 3-11 on the year. Shonda Cole led with a .462 hitting percentage and posted 14 kills and two errors, while Marija Milosevic led in kills with 15. Milosevic also recorded a double-double with 11 digs, her second of the season.
The Gamecocks outblocked the Lady Vols 16-8 and had 28 block assists, however it was errors and digs that hurt USC in the end. Although South Carolina registered 20 errors to UT’s 24, USC had seven ball handling errors to the Lady Vols’ one, and eight service errors to UT’s two. The Gamecocks were also outdug 44-39.
The Lady Vols took a 1-0 lead in the match after winning game one 30-20. UT led most of the match, forcing USC to play catch-up. After a Tennessee kill to put the Lady Vols up 29-20, an attack error by Marija Milosevic awarded UT the final point of the game. Despite having less errors and more blocks then UT, the Gamecocks still came up short. Belita Salters and Iris Santos each contributed four block assists in the game. Milosevic and Cole combined for seven of the 11 kills and four of the seven errors. USC hit .133 while Tennessee hit .182.
In game two, USC had better offensive numbers and cut back on the errors as they recorded 14 kills and three errors to hit .334. After being down 12-5, USC went on a 4-0 run that included a service ace by Milosevic and kills by Cole and Salters to cut the score to 13-10. The closest the Gamecocks came to the Lady Vols was two points after block assists by Cole and Crystal Johnson made the score 14-12. However, after a Tennessee kill and a ball handling error by USC, the Lady Vols were able to stay ahead and hold onto the lead. At the 28-21 mark, UT connected on back-to-back kills to move within game point. A hard return of the ball by Salters went out of bounds allowing the Lady Vols to claim game two 30-22.
Game three was knotted 30-30 before a ball handling error put UT up by one after the Gamecocks rallied hard to come back into the game. However, the end point went in favor of the Lady Vols after a kill by Milan Clarke sealed the deal 32-30. USC was down 23-21 before Tennessee recorded three straight points to extend its lead to four. It was at that point, the Gamecocks began to buckle down and chip away at UT. Back-to-back block assists by Miller and Salters brought USC to within two points, 28-26. A kill by Milosevic brought the Garnet and Black within one but Tennessee added another point and brought UT within match point.
A kill by Miller kept the game alive and a kill by Milosevic gave USC a new life and tied the game 29-29. Another Kill by Milosevic put South Carolina in the lead but that would be all the Gamecocks would get as Tennessee pulled a close one and recorded three straight points for the victory.
The Gamecocks are now down to their final two matches of the SEC regular season and need to win both in order to advance to the SEC Tournament in Tuscaloosa, Ala. next week. For the second year in a row, the Gamecocks were unable to record a win against and SEC East team. USC will host Auburn Friday night at 7 p.m. and Alabama on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. Gamecock seniors Nicole Miller, Sarah Morgan and Lauren Ford will be recognized prior to the match.
