Sept. 29, 2002
Columbia, S.C. – Led by 12 kills off the hands of Niece Curry and Cally Plummer, the Gamecock Volleyball team swept the Crimson Tide of Alabama 3-0 in front of 525 fans of the Garnet and Black in Columbia. Game scores were 30-17, 30-27, and 30-27.
Late in Game 3, senior setter Megan Hosp wrote her way into the South Carolina record books, recording her 4,000th career assist. Hosp ended the match with 36 assists and now has 4,004 assists in her career at South Carolina. With the win, South Carolina vaults to 10-3, 3-0 in the SEC. Alabama falls to 10-6, 1-1 in the SEC.
South Carolina tied a season high for team service aces with 16. Plummer contributed five while freshman Sarah Morgan notched four aces. Hosp and senior Berna Dwyer both had three aces on the afternoon.
South Carolina overpowered the Crimson Tide in game one, out hitting Alabama .458 to .154. Morgan led the Gamecocks with three aces in game one, while Hosp and Plummer each recorded two aces. South Carolina won game one, 30-17. In their first three SEC matches this season, the Gamecocks have held their opponents to less then 20 points in game one.
Alabama came firing back in game two, hitting .333 to USC’s .184. Curry led the Gamecocks with six kills, while Dwyer recorded three aces. South Carolina had a 19-15 lead, but Alabama came back to tie the game at 20. Alabama could not gain a lead as USC came back and moved ahead 29-27 with Curry serving an ace to finish the game and put Carolina up 2-0.
Neither team hit well in game three, with Carolina hitting .282 and Alabama hitting .200. Early in game three, South Carolina was given a little help as Alabama head coach Judy Green was issued a yellow card, followed by a red card, which gave the Gamecocks an extra point. That point would help Carolina in their 30-27 win in game three. Curry and Plummer each had five kills in game three.
The Gamecocks continue their face off against the SEC West next week, traveling to Fayetteville, Ark. on Oct. 4 to take on the Lady Razorbacks, then will face the Tigers of LSU on Oct. 6 in Baton Rouge. South Carolina returns home to face the Lady Vols of Tennessee on Sunday, Oct. 13.
