Nov. 17, 2002
Athens, Ga. – Seniors Cally Plummer and Berna Dwyer closed out the regular season in style as they combined for 39 kills in the 18th-ranked South Carolina 3-1 (28-30, 30-22, 30-19, 30-21) win over Georgia. The Gamecocks improved to 21-5 and 14-2 in the SEC for a second place finish and the best conference record in Carolina volleyball history. The Bulldogs fell to 18-13 and 8-8 in the SEC and have a fifth place finish in the conference. Plummer posted her first 20-kills match of the season while Dwyer led the team with a .586 hitting average. Dwyer also set a season high in kills with 19 and a career and team season high in total blocks as she recorded 11. The Gamecocks tied their season high 16 total blocks as well.
“We just wanted to come out today and pursue the ball. That was our goal,” said head coach Kim Christopher. “We were able to put up some good blocking numbers and we had good movement on the floor. We have been focusing on this for some time.”
In a close game one, Georgia came out on top after the Bulldogs capitalized on a net violation called on Niece Curry for the game point and the 30-28 win. Plummer led both teams with five kills in game one as the Gamecocks were held to a .167 hitting percentage. The game one loss was Carolina’s first against a non-ranked opponent since the LSU win back in October.
Carolina bounced back in game to with a 30-22 win and tied the match 1-1. Georgia took off with a 4-2 lead but the Gamecocks climbed back to tie 4-4. USC held on and never relinquished the lead. USC recorded 15 kills t Georgia’s nine and outhit the Bulldogs .300 to .000.
Game three was all South Carolina as the Gamecocks posted an 11-point 30-19 win. The win put USC up 2-1 in the match. Georgia posted 15 kills to Carolina’s 11 in game three but the Bulldogs also had 15 errors, giving them a .000 hitting percentage. By the end of game three, the Gamecocks had out blocked the Bulldogs 15-4.
Carolina held on in game four despite the Bulldogs’ attempts to rally. In game four, Georgia recorded their highest hitting percentage for the match, .342, but the Gamecocks continued to block and minimize their errors and grabbed the 30-21 win.
Carolina returns to action on Friday when they play the No. 7 seed Alabama Crimson Tide in the SEC Tournament in Fayetteville, Ark. Nov. 22. The match is scheduled for an 11:30 a.m. start.
-USC-
