Nov. 3, 2002
COLUMBIA, S.C. – In the final home match of the 2002 regular season, the No. 20 South Carolina volleyball team continued their dominance over SEC teams with a 3-0 win over Mississippi State (10-16, 1-11 SEC). Game scores were 30-18, 30-18, and 30-20. The Gamecocks (19-4, 12-1 SEC) have three more matches remaining in the regular season before heading to Fayetteville, Ark. for the SEC Tournament.
Sam Alban, Sarah Morgan, and Nadia Sefferovich each recorded 11 kills to lead the Gamecocks. Megan Hosp served up four aces and Berna Dwyer hit .875 as Mississippi State was unable to make a serious impact on the match. South Carolina recorded 60 kills on the match, the most this season in a three-game match.
“It was an emotional weekend because of it being the seniors’ final home matches,” said Carolina Head Coach Kim Christopher. “There is still a lot of volleyball left in the season to play. This is the most important part of our season and we still need to work on a few things. We need to continue to stay focused and play our game.”
In game one, Dwyer came out firing early on, recording all seven of her kills for the match and the Gamecocks out hit the Bulldogs .528 to .188. Carolina jumped out to a 10-point lead, 20-10, and never looked back, going on to win 30-18.
Game two was nothing more than a d?j? vu of game one as the Gamecocks won 30-18. Once again, Carolina jumped out to an early lead and never let up. Sefferovich and Morgan each recorded four kills for the Gamecocks. South Carolina’s defense came alive in game two, recording 21 digs and holding Mississippi State’s hitting to .053.
Niece Curry and Morgan led Carolina in game three, each recording five kills while Hosp recorded three aces in the game as the Gamecocks easily sent the Bulldogs packing. Curry hit an impressive .833 in the game.
South Carolina now travels to Tennessee on November 8 and closes out the regular season with matches at No. 3 Florida and at Georgia.
