Oct. 24, 2003
Athens, Ga. – South Carolina volleyball could not snap its losing streak as the Gamecocks fell to the Georgia Bulldogs (14-7, 7-2) 3-1. Game scores were 18-30, 30-23, 15-30, 14-30. The Bulldogs held the Gamecocks to its two lowest games scores of the season in games three and four. Carolina falls to 10-11 overall and 4-5 in the SEC and have lost four straight matches, the longest of the season. Sarah Morgan led the Gamecocks with 12 kills and Nicole Miller followed with 10.
“We continue to struggle and we are not playing together,” said head coach Kim Hudson Christopher. “Georgia played a very good match. They had their game together and we didn’t.”
Carolina was down 5-1 before going on a 7-3 run to tie game one early 8-8 and get back into the game. It wasn’t enough as the Bulldogs continued to use an almost errorless offense and pulled away to gain a 10-point lead before eventually winning by 12. Georgia recorded only three errors to the Gamecocks eight and hit .333 to USC’s .139. Rashinda Reed posted six kills and hit .857 in the Bulldogs 30-18 game one win.
Carolina bounced back in game two and jumped out to a 23-12 lead before the Bulldogs went on an 8-2 run to come within four at 24-20. The Gamecocks protected their lead and held Georgia to just three more points as the Garnet and Black evened the match 1-1 with the 30-23 win. In game two, USC held Reed to just one kill Miller recorded five kills as USC hit .400 for the game. The Gamecocks posted 19 kills and had just five errors to Georgia’s 10. The Bulldogs were held to a .023 hitting percentage as the Gamecocks also outblocked UGA six to three in the game.
The Bulldogs went back to their game one plan in game three as they played practically errorless volleyball with only two errors and 15 kills. Georgia hit .448, the highest percentage for the match. UGA held Carolina to its second lowest game score of the season with the 30-15 win. USC hit .000 with nine kills and nine errors and only recorded one block to UGA’s four.
In the final game of the match, Georgia sealed the deal and cruised past the Gamecocks and held Carolina to a season low 14 points. USC could never find its groove and lost by 16 points. The Gamecocks hit a paltry -.242 average with six kills and 14 errors.
The four straight losses is Carolina’s longest streak since 1998. The last time USC lost four straight SEC matches was in 1993.
The Gamecocks travel to Gainesville, Fla. for a Sunday 1:30 p.m. match against the third-ranked Florida Gators.
