Aug. 30, 2002
East Lansing, Mich.- – It was a showcase of the Michigan natives as Cally Plummer, Sam Alban and Niece Curry led South Carolina to a 3-0 season opening victory over the Oakland Golden Grizzlies. In less then an hour and a half, the Gamecocks took down the Grizzlies 30-16, 31-29, 30-20 to open the Coca-Cola/MSU Volleyball Classic on the campus of Michigan State.
Plummer, Alban and Curry all recorded kills in the double digits as Plummer led with 13. Alban had 11 and Curry followed with 10. Plummer also registered two service aces while Alban led the team in hitting with a .474 percentage. Senior Berna Dwyer hit .467 (9 K, 2 E, 15 TA) and had two service aces. Freshman Sarah Morgan made her debut as she started the match and finished with nine kills and seven digs.
“I felt this was a good way to start the season. I was pleased with freshman Sarah Morgan’s play,” said head coach Kim Christopher. “She played tight in some spots, but overall she had a good showing.
The Gamecocks took charge in game one as they held the Golden Grizzlies to a .063 hitting percentage and posted a 15-point lead at one time when the score was 28-13. Carolina recorded 18 kills to Oakland’s eight while defensively, the Gamecocks had six block assists to the Grizzlies two.
In game two, USC was down by five before Berna Dwyer recorded a service ace to tie the game 27-27. Two ties and three lead changes later, sophomore blocker Curry recorded a kill to give the Gamecocks the 31-29 win and a 2-0 lead in the match.
“In game two we had to pick up the tempo. We needed to be more aggressive,” said Christopher. “We got away from running our middle game and it was important for us to get back to that. Overall, it was a good offensive match for us.”
USC became more aggressive in game three as they held Oakland to just four kills and four errors. For the match, USC out hit Oakland .351 to .120. The Gamecocks had four players record .300-plus hitting percentages.
The Gamecocks return to action Saturday morning at 8:00 for a match against Georgetown. USC will close out the tournament against the host school, No. 15 Michigan State Saturday evening at 8:00.
