Oct. 2, 2003

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The South Carolina Gamecock volleyball team looks to grab two wins this weekend as they host the Rebels of Ole Miss Friday at 7 p.m. and the Bulldogs of Mississippi State Sunday at 1:30 p.m. at the Volleyball Competition Facility.

South Carolina comes into Friday’s match with a 7-7 overall record, 1-1 in the Southeastern Conference. The Gamecocks are coming off a split in the opening weekend of conference play, defeating LSU 3-0 and then losing to Arkansas 3-0. The Gamecocks are led by redshirt freshman right side hitter Lynae Vanden Hull who has 152 kills on the season, an average of 2.92 per game. Sophomore Nicole Miller leads the team in digs with 166 (3.07 per game).

Ole Miss enters Friday night’s match with a 2-13 record, 1-1 in the SEC. The Rebels defeated Mississippi State 3-2 last weekend before falling to Tennessee 3-1. South Carolina leads the overall series 15-6 over the Rebels and has won the past 13 meetings. Junior Elena Garcia leads the Lady Rebels with 165 kills. She is averaging 3.51 kills and 3.66 digs per game overall to rank among the league leaders.

On Sunday, Mississippi State comes to town after facing the Wildcats of Kentucky on Friday. The Bulldogs (1-11, 0-2 SEC) will look to stop a 10-match losing streak against the Gamecocks. Senior middle blocker Hilary Chambers enters the weekend for the Bulldogs with a team-leading .328 hitting mark, and against conference foes is hitting at a .377 clip, second-best percentage in the SEC.