Oct. 20, 2001
COLUMBIA, S.C- Nadia Sefferovich slammed home 17 kills and 10 digs, setting a new season high for kills in a four game match, and Cally Plummer recorded 10 digs in a 3-1 college volleyball win over Tennessee tonight at the Volleyball Competition Facility. Game scores were 30-25, 20-30, 30-16, and 30-23.
The Gamecocks improved to 13-3 overall and 6-3 in the SEC. The win avenged an earlier loss to Tennessee in Knoxville on October 7th when the Vols swept away Carolina 3-0.
Next up for the Gamecocks is another rematch, this time with Kentucky, with the first serve firing at 2:00 p.m. from the Volleyball Competition Facility.
“It was good to see that we maintained the intensity through most of the match,” said Carolina coach Kim Christopher. “With rally scoring, it was difficult to maintain our focus throughout the match. This was a very good team that we beat.”
In the opening game, Carolina jumped out to a 6-2 lead on a Berna Dwyer service ace. But the Vols would eventually tie the game at 11 on a kill. The lead changed hands several times before Carolina got hot. The Gamecocks took a 29-24 lead on a Nia Mackie kill. Mackie was 6-7 in the game with two block solos. Carolina wrapped up the match when Vol hitter Ariana Wilson committed an attack error.
The Vols would rally back to win the second game and tie the match at a game apiece. Carolina again jumped out to an early lead, but Tennessee once again fought back to tie, and then take the lead. Tennessee took a commanding 21-15 lead and would build it to 27-19 on a kill. Dwyer again nailed a service ace to cut the lead to 28-20, but that was as close as the Gamecocks would get before losing 30-20.
Game three featured Carolina once again jump out to an early lead, but this time they kept the Vols at bay. Tennessee got no closer than four points to Carolina in the game. Entering the match for the first time in game three, junior Yajaira Cadet provided a much-needed energy to the Gamecocks after losing the second game. Cadet registered three kills and was in on two block assists as Carolina controlled the game from start to finish.
Carolina wrapped up the match in game four using an explosive offensive attack and strong serves to keep Tennessee off balance the entire match. The Gamecocks raced out to an early lead, and the lead changed hands several times. Carolina eventually ended the match with Cadet using devastating jump serves and an airtight defense to wrap up the match with a 30-23 lead. The Gamecocks hit .536 in the game.
Carolina out-hit Tennessee .340 to .231 for the match. Plummer finished with nine kills, only the third time in 16 matches that she was held below 10 kills in a match.
Fans who bring their Carolina-Vanderbilt football ticket stubs to Sunday’s tangle with Kentucky will be admitted for free. Carolina defeated Kentucky 3-1 back on October 5th in Lexington.
