April 22, 2002
Here are some of the top headlines and stories that popped up during the 2001 South Carolina Volleyball Season. The Gamecocks finished the year 20-6, 10-4 in the Southeastern Conference.
Four Make All-SEC Teams
USC placed four on the All-SEC Teams for the third straight year, placing two on the First team and two on the Second team. All four players – Cally Plummer, Megan Hosp, Berna Dwyer, and Nadia Sefferovich – were juniors. It was the seventh year in a row that South Carolina has placed at least two players on the All-SEC Team.
Cally Plummer, a 6-0 Right Side hitter made her third All-SEC First Team in as many years. Plummer was ninth in the SEC in kills last season (339), eighth in digs (256), and fourth in service aces (50). Plummer also led the team in those three categories and is now 10th in all-time kills at South Carolina with 1,003. She also tied a school record that she set with 8 service aces in a match against Clemson on Oct. 10, 2001.
Megan Hosp, a 5-9 setter, made the first team for the second straight year. She was fourth in the SEC in assists (1113). She is now fourth all-time in assists at South Carolina with 3,471 sets.
Nadia Sefferovich, a 6-1 outside hitter, was second on the team in kills with 297. She had 33 service aces for the season and was ninth in the SEC in number of aces per game (0.36).
Berna Dwyer, a 6-3 middle blocker, collected All-SEC honors for the third year in a row. Berna had 54 blocks on the year, 189 kills, and 28 service aces.
Fifth NCAA Appearance in Seven Years for Gamecocks
Carolina made its fifth appearance in the NCAA Tournament in seven years. Carolina defeated the Tar Heels the week before in Columbia and 20 kills by Niece Curry, the Gamecocks were unable to defeat the Tar Heels in the first round of the tournament, falling 3-1. Despite an ankle injury suffered in the first game, Junior Cally Plummer returned to notch 19 kills. Carolina ended the season at 20-6, 10-4 in the SEC.
Just the Two of Us
Cally Plummer and Megan Hosp were both selected to the all-region team for the second straight year. Plummer led the team in kills, digs, amd aces last season while Hosp led the team with assists.
Gamecocks Finish Second in East, Third Overall in SEC
South Carolina finished second in the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference for the sixth straight year with a 10-4 conference record. Their only losses came at Tennessee, at Florida, and home against Arkansas and Florida. Overall, they finished third behind Florida (14-0) and Arkansas (12-3).
Carolina Advances to Second Round of SEC Tournament
South Carolina advanced to the second round of the SEC Tournament last year only to drop a close game to Arkansas, 3-1. Game scores were 30-28, 28-30, 28-30, and 24-30. In the first round of the tournament, the Gamecocks defeated the Lady Vols of Tennessee 3-2. Game scores were 31-29, 20-30, 17-30, 30-27, and 15-9.
Streaking By
South Carolina extended their streaks in the SEC in 2001. Carolina defeated Auburn (3-0) for the sixth straight time, LSU(3-1) for the seventh straight time, Mississippi State(3-0) for the ninth straight time and Ole Miss (3-0) for the 12th straight time.
Three’s Not a Crowd
The Gamecocks signed three players for 2002: 6-1 Middle Blocker/Outside Hitter Nicole Miller of Stockton, CA, 6-0 Outside Hitter Sarah Morgan of Gibsonia, PA, and 6-2 Rightside Blocker Lynae VanderHull of Omaha, NE.
Miller played for teh Delta Valley Club Team that finished tied for third at Junior Nationals and won the Volleyball Festival in Sacramento, CA. She has lettered three years in volleyball and tw ears in track at St. Mary’s High School in Stockton. :Nicole is an athlete with tremendous speed,” said Head Coach Kim Christopher. “She is versatile offensively and a great competitor. Nicole is an experienced club player that has played at a high level for several years. Nicole will be a great addition becase when the whistle blows, she is there to win.”
Sarah Morgan played for Pine-Richland High that won the league championship in one of the largest leagues in the nation – the WPIAL which has 140 member schools. She was named WPIAL MVP in 2001 as well as Section MVP and Team MVP for the third time. “Sarah is a great all-around athlete wth a work ethic to match,” said Coach Christopher. “She is a determined competitor that is intelligent and is committed to being the best she can be. She is a leader on her team and in her community. She also shas the intangibles to go with her athleticism. I will enjoy coaching Sarah because she is self motivated and has very high standards for herself.”
Lynae VanderHull was a member of the Nebraska High School State Champion volleyball team in Class A in 2000 and 2001. She was named honorable mention All-America by StudentSports.com and named to the 2001 Nebraska High School State All-tournament team. “Lynae is an exciting player that is seeing the benefits of her hard work and committment,” said Coach Christopher. “She had the benefit of playing for Gwen Egbert at Papillion-La Vista High School, that is one of the best high school and club programs in the country. She has great size and good hand-eye coordination.”
We’re Going to See the Gamecocks Play!
For the fifth year in a row, Carolina averaged over 700 fans for home matches at the Volleyball Competition Facility. The Gamecocks set a new Volleyball Competition Facility Attendence record this year when 1,793 Gamecock faithful entered the competition facility to watch a heartbreaking 3-2 Carolina loss to Florida. It was the largest crowd to ever watch a collegiate volleyball match in the state of South Carolina.
Moving On Up
Carolina witnessed three players graduate in 2002. Nia Mackie, Liz Price, and Milica Perovic all received their diplomas in May.
They Weren’t the Only Ones to Go on to Bigger and Better Things!
Assistant Coach Joe Getzin also moved on to bigger and better things for himself as he was named the head coach of Ole Miss Volleyball in January of 2002. We wish him the best of luck.
