Oct. 18, 2002
Tuscaloosa, Ala. – The No. 24 South Carolina volleyball team improved to 15-3 and 8-0 in SEC play as the Gamecocks defeated Alabama 3-0 for the second time this season. The Tide fall to 13-8 and 4-3 in the SEC. This marks the sixth sweep for the Gamecocks in conference play. Sam Alban led Carolina with 12 kills and hit .647. The Gamecocks are just one win away from tying the record for their best start in SEC play.
With a sluggish start in game one, South Carolina pulled away with the 30-27 win. The Gamecocks were up 29-24 before Alabama went on a 3-0 run to come within two, but a service error by the Tide’s Kory Tull gave the Gamecocks game point and the 1-0 match lead. Alban led the game for Carolina as she hit 1.000 with five kills. The Gamecocks held Alabama’s Erin Heffner, the conference leader in kills, to a -.083 hitting percentage with three kills and four errors. Despite the Tide recording more kills then the Gamecocks in game one, Carolina out hit Alabama .314 to .268.
In game two, South Carolina led by as much as nine before clinching the 30-23 win and the 2-0 lead in the match. Heffner bounced back and led the match with 10 of Alabama’s 19 kills in game two, but South Carolina only had two errors and out hit the Tide .362 to .238. At the break, Alban led the Gamecocks with 10 kills and had a .643 hitting percentage. The Tide also had 17 hitting errors to Carolina’s five in the two games combined.
The Gamecocks controlled game three as they clinched the match with a 30-23 win. Niece Curry led the game with six kills and hit .714. USC never fell under .300 in hitting as they finished with a .356 percentage. The Tide had 21 errors to Carolina’s 10.
Carolina returns to action on Sunday in Auburn, Ala. when they face the Auburn Tigers at 1:30 p.m. (CT). -USC-
