Nov. 29, 2003

Chapel Hill, N.C. – The South Carolina volleyball team ended the 2003 season on a down note as the Gamecocks lost to the North Carolina Tar Heels 3-0. Game scores were 30-19, 30-16, 30-24. USC finishes its season at 12-18 while the Tar Heels are 20-12. USC was held to .058 for the match and was led by freshman Shonda Cole with 14 kills and she hit .273. Lauren Ford followed with 11 kills and hit .250. The two combined for 25 of USC total 31 kills.

“This was a very tough season. We had some great high moments and some very low moments,” said head coach Kim Christopher. “We still have a strong future with some talented athletes. We just need more work on our skills.”

The Tar Heels held USC to just 19 points in game one as they defeated the Gamecocks 30-19. USC came to within one at 19-20 before the Tar Heels went on a 10-0 run to claim the win. Cole led game one with seven kills and hit .357. USC was held to only .081 in hitting while UNC hit .122.

The Gamecocks did not manage to rebound in game two as USC fell 16-30 and 0-2 in the match. USC was held to under .100 in hitting percentage as they hit .050. North Carolina had only two errors in game two and hit .447 with 19 kills. South Carolina posted 11 kills and had nine errors. Ford hit .500 with five kills in game two while Cole had four. USC could not find a lead in the game and was down by as much as 15.

Game three was the Gamecocks closest game of the match but it wasn’t enough prevent the sweep as USC fell 24-30. South Carolina had the game tied several times and even had a lead early on. The Tar Heels continued to push and came out on top for the six-point win. South Carolina recorded 24 errors while UNC had 19.

This marks the first time since 1999 that USC has not reached 20 wins and it is the first losing season for the Gamecocks since 1993.