Aug. 30, 2003
Los Angeles, Calif. – Sophomore outside hitter Nicole Miller posted career high numbers but it wasn’t enough for the South Carolina Gamecocks (0-2) volleyball team to stop defending national champion Southern California (4-0) Saturday afternoon. The Women of Troy defeated the Gamecocks 3-0 with scores of 30-18, 30-20, 30-21. Miller hit a career high .448 with 16 kills led the team for the match with three blocks and nine digs.
“We are seeing such good things. This is where we need to be, playing the best,” said head coach Kim Hudson Christopher. “We have to play the best in order to beat the best and this is exactly what we need right now.”
In game one, the Women of Troy handled the Gamecocks with ease as they jumped off to an 11-2 lead and Carolina’s first three points came off of errors by Southern California. Carolina posted only seven kills and seven errors for a .000 hitting percentage in the game while the Women of Troy outkilled the Gamecocks 21-7. Miller led the Gamecocks and accounted for five of Carolina’s points.
South Carolina regrouped in game two and held a 6-2 lead before the Women of Troy went on a 6-1 run to claim the lead. The Gamecocks recorded 12 kills to Southern Cal’s 15 but was still held to under .100 in hitting. At the end of game two, Miller accounted for 11 of Carolina’s 13 kills.
The Women of Troy continued to control the match despite the Gamecocks’ 21 points in game three, the most they scored in the match. Carolina finally hit above the .100 mark as they registered .195 with 15 kills, seven errors in 41 attempts.
The Gamecocks will play Ball State this evening at 8 p.m. (ET) for their final match of the Holiday Inn Tournament.
South Carolina 18 20 21
No. 1 Southern California 30 30 30
