Sept. 10, 2002
COLUMBIA, S.C. – The No. 23 Carolina Volleyball team avoided a scare – and a major upset – as the Gamecocks came back to record a 3-2 win over archrival Clemson in front of 1,246 fans, the seventh largest crowd in school history. Niece Curry led the Gamecocks, recording 15 kills and hitting .560 while freshman Sarah Morgan had 14 kills, hitting .323. Game scores were 30-22, 30-16, 25-30, 23-30, and 15-4.
“Wow, what a great match tonight,” said Carolina Head Coach Kim Christopher. “That’s the way it is with Carolina-Clemson. Everyone’s fighting back and forth. It’s intense. In the fifth game, I’m glad the seniors stepped it up. We got aggressive again and the seniors showed some great leadership.”
Carolina now travels to Long Beach, CA to face No. 5 Long Beach State and No. 27 San Diego this weekend. Carolina out hit Clemson, notching a .321 hitting percentage to Clemson’s .215. South Carolina’s Cally Plummer recorded 5 aces against the Tigers, three of those coming in the pivotal Game Five.
The Gamecocks easily out hit Clemson in game one, hitting an impressive .345 to the Tigers’ .125. Carolina came out firing early in the second game and cruised to an easy 30-16 victory. In game two, Carolina out hit Clemson once again, this time .500 to Clemson’s meager .033.
However, Clemson came back with a vengeance in game three, taking the game 30-25 and out hitting the Gamecocks .405 to Carolina’s .317. Clemson came out again, winning 30-23, as Clemson out hit the gamecocks .267 to .085. Clemson was unable to capitalize in game five as the Gamecocks were too much for Clemson to handle, winning 15-4. South Carolina went on an 11-1 run to end the game and the match.
USC’s next home match is September 20th as they open up conference season, hosting the Wildcats of the University of Kentucky.
