Sept. 4, 2015
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Behind a career day from junior outside hitter Dessaa Legros, the South Carolina volleyball team earned a 3-1 win over rival Clemson on Friday afternoon at Alley Gym by the scores of 24-26, 25-23, 25-23 and 25-15.
The Gamecocks (3-1) turned to Legros to lead the way, and she delivered with her first career double-double, recording a career-high 21 kills and 19 digs. As a team Carolina held the advantage in kills (60-50), hitting percentage (.284-.141), digs (75-61) and blocks (10-6).
Carolina rallied from a 24-20 deficit in the first set to tie it at 24, but Clemson (1-3) scored the next two points to take a 1-0 lead. The Gamecocks trailed 21-18 in the second set but used a 7-2 run to close out the frame and tie the match at 1-1.
Clemson held a late lead in the third set with a 21-20 advantage, but Carolina answered once again. The Gamecocks outscored the Tigers 5-2, including a kill by Koko Atoa-Williams to finish off the set, to claim a 25-23 win and take a 2-1 lead. Carolina put together its best effort of the match in the fourth set as it hit .500, recording 17 kills on 34 swings with no attack errors on its way to cruising to a 25-15 win.
Senior middle blocker Darian Dozier pitched in 13 kills while hitting .346 and three blocks for the Gamecocks. Junior right side Sarah Blomgren produced a season-high 11 kills while hitting .348 and added three blocks, and freshman setter Aubrey Ezell recorded her third double-double in four matches with a season-high 47 assists and 15 digs. Ezell also added three kills and three blocks. Junior middle blocker Jacqy Angermiller finished with six kills and six blocks, and junior outside hitter Koko Atoa-Williams contributed five kills and six digs. Junior Megan Kirkland tallied 12 digs, and junior Joely Cabrera and freshman Emma Lock collected nine digs apiece.
Leah Perri paced Clemson with 16 kills, while Kailey Harvell and Sydney Moseley finished with 12 and 10 kills, respectively. Tigers setter Kate Federico distributed 38 assists and had seven digs, while libero Keelie Arneson finished with 21 digs.
Match Changer
Legros came up big for the Gamecocks as she delivered her first career double-double with career highs in kills (21) and digs (19).
Key Stat
The Gamecocks put the Tigers away in the fourth set with their most efficient offensive performance of the season. Carolina hit .500, recording 17 kills on 34 attempts without an error.
Notable
• The win was Carolina’s first over Clemson since a 3-0 victory in Columbia on Sept. 7, 2012.
• Legros recorded her first career double-double, finishing the match with career highs in kills (21) and digs (19).
• Dozier (13) and Blomgren (11) finished the match with a season high in kills. â?¢ Ezell produced her third double-double in four matches this season with a season-high 47 assists and 17 digs.
• The Gamecocks did not record a hitting error in the fourth set on their way to recording 17 kills on 34 attempts while hitting .500.
Quotable
South Carolina head coach Scott Swanson
On defeating the Tigers
“I’m extremely proud. We had a slow start. Clemson was playing really, really well in game one. I think we mentally bounced back really well and got better and better as we got into game two and just kept going. We kind of dominated at the end of game three and all of game four. It was more about our mindset than anything. I couldn’t be more proud of them for stepping up and playing as well as we could play.”
On Legros’ performance
“She played fearlessly and relentlessly. She was not going to let this loss happen. She knew she could take the team on her back. I thought she dominated. They had no answer for her, front row or back row. She was putting it away every chance she had.”?
Tweet of the Match
Congrats to @GamecockVBcoach and @GamecockVolley on the big win over Clemson! #GoCocks
â?” Sammy Esposito (@SammyEsposito41) September 4, 2015
Up Next
The Gamecocks will wrap up play at Furman’s Carolina Classic on Saturday. Carolina will face Winthrop at 12:30 p.m. and Furman at 7 at Alley Gym.
