Nov. 5, 2003
Lexington, Ky. – In a thrilling game four come from behind victory, the South Carolina volleyball team defeated the Kentucky Wildcats 3-1. Game scores were 30-19, 28-30, 30-28, 31-29. The Gamecocks are now 12-13 overall and 6-7 in the SEC while Kentucky stands at 13-12 and 5-8 in the SEC. With the win, the Gamecocks sweep the Wildcats for the season and currently stand in seventh in the SEC.
USC was down 25-29 before Cole and the Gamecocks began the attack. Carolina was able to capitalize on crucial errors made by the Wildcats and Niece Curry came in for a huge block assist with Vanden Hull to bring USC within two. A ball handling error by Amy Kaplan tied the game for Carolina 29-29 and USC took the lead on an attack error, also by Kaplan. A kill by Sarah Morgan gave the Gamecocks the winning point and USC won the match 3-1.
“This was a big win for us, especially with it being on the road,” said head coach Kim Christopher. “Kentucky is always tough to play and this was a big win. We had some important blocks by Lauren, Niece and Shonda in game four.”
Shonda Cole led the Gamecocks with 16 kills while Lynae Vanden Hull and Sarah Morgan followed with 12 kills. Morgan hit .308 Sophomore Nicole Miller led the team with five total blocks followed by Lauren Ford and Vanden Hull with four.
The Garnet and Black started the match off on the right track as they hit .423 to win game one 30-19. USC recorded 13 kills and had only two errors while Kentucky had 13 kills and seven errors. The Gamecocks also recorded five service aces, including one by Lauren Ford, which gave USC game point. South Carolina took the lead early and controlled the game the entire time. Kentucky got to within one but USC never backed down and cruised to an 11-point win.
South Carolina had to play catch up in game two and after being down by as much as five points the Gamecocks took advantage of some Kentucky ball handling errors and tied the match 22-22. From there, the game remained close. USC had a 27-26 lead but a kill by Melissa Popp tied it for the Wildcats. Sissy Canfield followed with a kill to give UK the lead but Vanden Hull slammed a kill to tie the game for USC. That would be all the Gamecocks would get however as the Wildcats recorded their next two points on kills by Sarah Spinner and Popp to win the game 30-28 and tie the match 1-1.
For the game, USC was held to -.023 hitting as they recorded 12 kills and 13 errors but UK didn’t fair much better as the Wildcats only hit .020 with 12 kills and 11 errors.
USC took a 2-1 lead in the match when they won game three 30-28. Kentucky tied the game 27-27 on a kill by Amy Kaplan but Sarah Morgan recorded a kill to put USC up 28-27. Kentucky tied the game once more and Morgan followed with another kill to give the Gamecocks a 29-28 lead. A block solo by Ford sealed the deal for the Gamecocks as they won the game. Morgan led the game with five kills and hit .364 while USC hit .256 and UK hit .235.
In game four, USC hit .271 while UK hit .278. Cole and Morgan both recorded seven kills. Kentukcy’s Popp hit .267 with seven kills for the game as well.
USC returns home to the Volleyball Competition Facility for a Sunday match against the Tennessee Lady Vols at 1:30 p.m. The Lady Vols are second in the SEC East and defeated the Gamecocks 3-1 in Knoxville back on Oct. 10.
