Oct. 6, 2002
Baton Rouge, La. – For the second match in a row, the South Carolina volleyball team had to come from behind to win. After losing 30-21 in game one, the Gamecocks (12-3, 5-0 SEC) rallied and won the next three games 30-26, 30-20, 30-19 for the 3-1 victory over the LSU Tigers (9-5, 1-2 SEC). Niece Curry became the first Gamecock to break the 20-kill mark this season as she posted 21 against the Tigers for a career high. Berna Dwyer followed with 17 kills and had zero attack errors to hit a team leading .680.
LSU came out attacking in game one as the Tigers hit .441 to the Gamecocks .222. LSU only recorded three errors to South Carolina’s seven in the 30-21 win. Despite Curry leading both team in kills during game one with seven and hitting .778, the Gamecocks were held to just 21 points, their lowest in an SEC match this season.
South Carolina came back to win game two in a sloppy battle. The Gamecocks managed to only hit .095 for the game while LSU scraped out a .022 attack percentage. Carolina recorded 13 kills and nine errors in 42 attempts while LSU had 14 kills and 13 errors in 45 attempts.
The Gamecocks came out of their slump in game three as they posted 20 kills and only had five errors to hit .455. Carolina held LSU to just 20 points and went ahead 2-1 in the match. At the end of game three, Dwyer led the team with a .667 percentage while Curry had 15 kills to lead the match.
Carolina continued to control the match in the fourth and final game as they defeated LSU 30-19. The Gamecocks led by as much as 12, their largest of the match. South Carolina recorded only two attack errors in game four, the second lowest of the season for a game.
With the win, South Carolina remains undefeated in the SEC and is 4-0 against the SEC West. USC also has a 6-0 win streak, the longest of the season. The Gamecocks now travel to Lexington, Ky. to face the Kentucky Wildcats on Wednesday. The match is scheduled for a 7 p.m. (ET) start.
