Sept. 13, 2002
Long Beach, Calif. – In their first match of their west coast trip, the 23rd-ranked South Carolina (6-2) volleyball team fell to the San Diego Toreros 29-31, 26-30, 27-30. Berna Dwyer led the Gamecocks in kills with 14 and in hitting with .267. Niece Curry followed with 12 kills and hit .258. As a team, the Gamecocks held San Diego (7-2) to a .181 hitting percentage, but USC only hit .145, their lowest of the season. San Diego’s Noel Frohman led the match with 16 kills.
The Gamecocks led by as much as six in game one before San Diego went on a 10-4 run to tie the game 16-16. It would stay close until the very end when USC was down by one, 29-28 and Curry connected on a kill to tie the game. Two back-to-back Carolina attack errors gave the Toreros the lead and the 31-29 win as San Diego went up 1-0 in the match. The Gamecocks were held to their lowest game one hitting percentage so far this season as they hit .107, despite San Diego just hitting .143.
In game two, Carolina never established a lead as San Diego controlled the game. Down by as much as 10, the Gamecocks had a couple of runs but it wasn’t enough as USC lost 30-26 and fell to 2-0 in the match. After game two, Dwyer led both teams in kills with 10.
In game three, Carolina managed to hit .200 as they recorded 18 kills and seven errors in 55 attempts. Statistically, the two teams were close in just about every category but the Toreros defense held off the Gamecocks. Service errors were a problem for Carolina once again as USC registered eight to San Diego’s three.
The Gamecocks wrap up their West coast trip tomorrow evening when they face No. 5 Long Beach State at 7:30 p.m. This will mark the first meeting between the two teams. The 49ers are 7-0 for the season.
