Sept. 4, 2004
Winston-Salem, N.C. – It was a 3-0 sweep for the South Carolina volleyball team as they defeated the Marshall Thundering Herd 30-20, 30-21, 32-30 Saturday evening at the Wake Forest Invitational. The win gave the Gamecocks a 2-1 record at the tournament which earned them a second-place finish. USC improved to 2-1 while Marshall fell to 1-2. Shonda Cole led the Gamecocks with 15 kills and hit .414. The sweep by the Gamecocks was the first of the tournament. “This was a good tournament to grow up in. I saw improvements in each match,” said head coach Kim Hudson. “There was more communication and more team work. We had stronger rallies and we were able to cut down on our unforced errors.” In their biggest game win of the tournament, the Gamecocks took a 1-0 lead against the Thundering Herd and won game one 30-20. USC hit .297 with 16 kills and five errors in 37 attempts, while Marshall was held to .108 with 11 kills and seven errors in 37 attempts. For the second time in a match, Cole led USC in game one kills with five and hit .556. The Gamecocks cruised again in game two as they won 30-21 to take a 2-0 lead in the match. USC took the lead from the first point and never fell behind. South Carolina recorded 20 kills to Marshall’s 11. The Gamecocks also outdug the Thundering Herd 18-8. Cole the USC for the second game in kills with six followed by Lauren Ford with four. USC was up 21-20 in game three before four consecutive errors put Marshall ahead 24-21. The Gamecocks scored another point before two Marshall errors allowed USC to tie the game 24-24. From there, there were five ties and six lead changes. Tied 29-29, a kill by Sarah Morgan put USC up 30-29 but Marshall then got a kill off of a dig to tie the game 30-30. Morgan then connected on another kill to put USC ahead once again, but then a net violation by Marshall gave South Carolina match point, 32-30. Morgan led the team in kills during game three with six and hit .333. Vanden Hull and Cole were both named to the all-tournament team. Cole recorded 50 kills in three matches while Vanden Hull had 33 kills and hit .355. Ford led the team in blocks with 10 followed by Miller with nine. Next up for the Gamecocks is the season home opener on Tuesday, Sept. 7. USC will host rival Clemson at 7 p.m. at the Colonial Center. Tickets for the match are only $1. A block party for all fans will be held in the parking lot of the Colonial Center beginning at 5:30 p.m. USC Cheerleaders, Cocky, Chick-fil-A, games, face painting and more will be available.
