Nov. 24, 2001
Columbia, SC – Led by Nadia Sefferovich’s and Niece Curry’s 15 kills, the South Carolina volleyball team (20-5, 10-4 SEC) defeated the ACC Tournament Champion North Carolina Tar Heels (24-7, 12-4 ACC) in a battle of Carolinas today 3-1. This was the last regular season match for both teams and they now await the selection show for the NCAA Volleyball Tournament, which will be Monday at 3:00 p.m. This was the seventh out of the past nine seasons that South Carolina Head Coach Kim Christopher has had at least 20 wins.
Game scores were 30-32, 31-29, 30-22, and 30-25. South Carolina hit .375 while their competitors from the north hit .247.
“In the first game, we played pretty well until the end,” said Head Coach Kim Christopher. “It was a good match with a lot of momentum swings. Offensively, we played very solid. It was a good match – a fun match. North Carolina is a really good team and it was a great win for us today.”
Cally Plummer contributed to the Gamecock effort with 13 kills and 6 aces. Yajaira Cadet also helped with 12 kills. Megan Hosp had 7 kills and led the team with 12 digs.
In the first game, North Carolina jumped out to an early 14-8 lead. The Gamecocks battled with a 13-4 run that included two aces by Plummer. South Carolina then went up 25-20 off of back-to-back kills by Berna Dwyer and Sefferovich. The Tar Heels then mounted a comeback that witnessed a 9-3 run to finish the game, as North Carolina took game one, 32-30.
In game two, South Carolina came out firing as they jumped out to a 5-1 lead on a run that was capped off by a Curry kill. North Carolina tied the game at seven, but the Gamecocks jumped ahead again 9-7 off of a kill and an ace by Plummer. The Tar Heels would tie the game once again, but the Gamecocks would jump out in front once more to take a 16-12 lead. The two teams exchanged point-for-point for a while and the closest North Carolina could get would be two points as the Gamecocks won game two, 31-29.
In game three, North Carolina jumped out to an early 5-3 lead, but South Carolina quickly came back to take the lead, 6-5, off of a Sefferovich block. North Carolina took the lead once again, going up 9-10, but South Carolina would tie the game at 11 then take a 16-12 lead on a run that witnessed yet another Plummer ace. South Carolina kept the ball rolling as they went up 26-17, their largest lead of the game, on a run that was capped off by a Nia Mackie kill. The Tar Heels would battle back to put the score at a 29-22 Gamecock lead, but a Curry kill ended game three as the Gamecocks won 30-22.
In game four, South Carolina struggled early as North Carolina took a 4-1 lead over the Gamecocks early on. South Carolina would battle back to tie the game at nine off of another Curry kill, and then take a 16-14 off of one of Plummer’s six aces. North Carolina would tie the game at 22, but South Carolina refused to go quietly as they jumped out to a 27-24 lead off of a Sefferovich kill. The Gamecocks then jumped ahead to force match point, and a 29-25 lead in game four, off of a block assist by Curry and Yajaira Cadet. North Carolina sealed its own fate with an error that would give the Gamecocks a game four win 30-25. South Carolina will now travel to a campus site to be announced, along with the pairings for the NCAA Tournament, on Monday at 3:00 p.m.
